--- Previous Chapter

    *.*.*.*.*

    The funeral procession was subdued at first, then it was restless, and at the end it moved forward as if escaping.

    As long as we were in Big Shimaron, we had to behave like we were part of a funeral service for an important person.

    After all, now Norman Gilbit wasn’t the mandated overseer of Small Shimaron’s autonomous colony of Caloria.  Caloria had gained official independence by being the first victorious team that wasn’t from the sponsoring nation of Big Shimaron in ‘Use you knowledge, speed, and skill to win!  The World’s Best Fighter Tournament!’

    The leader of an independent nation deserved to be sent off with respect.  For example, the coffin holding the remains shouldn’t be handled carelessly.

    Even if there was only another small box inside of it.

    The more you heard of it, the more astonished you would be at the plan.

    Not astonished by the ingenuity, but by the fact that the so-called savior of the kingdom, the Twin Black Great Sage, came up with such a childish plan!  That sort of astonished.

    It was all well and good that he got the ‘End of the Wind’ out of the temple in Big Shimaron by switching it with a DIY box made on the ship, but there was no way to get it somewhere safe.  He even thought that since it was painted white and looked like a boy’s coffin that it should be carried in a funeral.  However, if a soldier has questions during an inspection, he can’t be allowed to open the lid and check the contents.

    Then how about putting it in a bigger box and giving a reason why they can’t look inside?

    The reason for not opening the lid being… an ideal ‘deceased’ is inside.

    It was Norman ‘You are already dead’ Gilbit who had just been injured during the World’s Best.

    Big Shimaron had even given it a catchline of ‘Caloria’s Great Star, Fallen’ and had wanted to conduct a temporary burial for Norman Gilbit.  They probably wanted to show their open-mindedness by showing respect to the victor even though they were defeated.

    Gardino put on a splendid performance as a corpse without moving even the tiniest bit.  However, his breathing while asleep was loud so someone had to stay by his side and continuously speak.  Flynn held on to her grief and as a tragic wife who clung to her husband, she received sympathy from women all over the capital.  Wolfram and Josak were extolled by a poet as teammates who fought together with him and whose friendship surpassed even death.  Even though they had never met the actual person.

    Murata employed his memories of the past and walked about as the experienced ceremony leader.  Without him consistently coming up with plans, the temporary burial in a foreign country would have been impossible.

    I’m the one who didn’t have a part.

    I did wear goggles in the arena, but I didn’t wear the mask.  As such, a part of the ladies and men who were watching recognize my Norman Gilbit face.  On the other hand, the women at the party we were invited to treat me as Flynn Gilbit’s young lover.  In the end, the young ladies who loved to gossip started up a rumor that Caloria’s mistress was giving her affection to a young man that looked like her husband.

    Hurriedly dyed, chestnut brown hair and cosmetic, brown lenses.  I don’t even want to know if that resembles the real Norman.  However, just by being by Flynn’s side as she sobbed, all of the young women who came to offer their condolences whispered, ‘Look, that’s Madam Gilbit’s rumored lover.’

    Far from her lover, I didn’t even have a lover in my actual life.

    After closing the lid, there wouldn’t be another government official who would check inside.  Even though it was immediately following its independence, doubting the funeral of a leader of a country would be imprudent all by itself.

    Although, what was inside the extravagant coffin wasn’t a corpse, but the ‘End of the Wind’ wrapped in cloth.

    As soon as we got out of the capital, we started making our getaway in a mad rush.

    Since the Demon King statue with the elephant head was stolen from the treasure room, they hadn’t realized that the box had been switched out yet.  That being said, once they discovered it, we would fall under suspicion.  We had to get away as soon as possible before they realized.  We had the fastest group of sheep on our side.

    Flynn, Murata, and I rode in the carriage being pulled by T-Zou’s Team ‘Seep.’  Apparently having been a sheep shepherd in his hometown, Gardino was sitting in the driver’s position in high spirits.

    I don’t know why he’s coming with us.

    Lady Celi stayed behind in Shimaron with Fanfan.  Her next aspiration is to take a world cruise of free love.  Naturally, Chevalier was underfoot waiting on her as usual.

    Wolfram, Josak, Sizemore, and Dacascos were on a horse-driven carriage parallel to us.  The troublesome part was that in Japan it’s said that horses and sheep are like cats and dogs, so they both had the sense of a huge rivalry about them.  Lined up together, they meaninglessly dashed forward and if one of them fell behind, there would be a shower of feces from their displeasure.  Sheep are super-early-morning types so by the afternoon, they were in a bad mood.

    We reluctantly put a distance between the sheep carriage and the horse carriage, but if an enemy attacked us, we would be at a disadvantage.

    No one told us that ‘seep’ and horses had this bad of a relationship with each other when we bought them.

    “At any rate, there’s one thing I don’t get.”

    “Hm?”

    “You made Josak make a fake box while we were on the boat, right?” I asked Murata who was swaying around in the luggage compartment as I sat next to the driver.

    “Yeah.  His hobby is carpentry.”

    “I didn’t know that… No, what I mean is, you planned on switching the box out while we were still at that stage?”

    “Yeah.”