"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 77

A former samurai from Tosa—Goroemon, the man known for slaying a hundred people.

He was the culprit behind a gruesome series of murders that took place in Tosa years ago.

At the time, Goroemon held a high-ranking samurai title, so no one suspected him. Even though he had a bad reputation, no one thought a samurai could be behind such crimes.

When the truth came out, Goroemon brought disgrace to the Tosa domain. He was immediately declared a wanted man, and his sketch was posted all over Japan.

But no matter how hard the Tosa samurai searched for him, they couldn’t even find a trace of his whereabouts.

Goroemon lived in hiding for years before deciding to move to Edo, the capital ruled by the Shogun. He chose Edo because it had many foreign visitors. If he killed them, the investigation would take time, and it was unlikely anyone would track him down.

If things went wrong, he could simply leave Edo.

With this reckless plan in mind, he set his sights on Esther.

The Authorities Are Alerted

Before Ryu could draw his sword, someone in the crowd recognized Goroemon and ran to the magistrate’s office.

(In Japan, the magistrate’s office was like a police station and was run by the Tokugawa family.)

“Goroemon has appeared! The killer of a hundred men!”

“What?! Where?!”

“At the sweets shop on East Street!”

“Understood! Move out at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

The samurai officers (who acted like guards) mounted their horses and rushed to the scene.

But one of them had a bad feeling.

(Goroemon was a well-known samurai, even in Tosa. Can we really take him down ourselves? I should have called for reinforcements before leaving…)

Tosa, Choshu, Satsuma, and Hizen—these four domains were famous for producing the strongest warriors.

Even the Tokugawa officers couldn’t say for sure they could defeat such a man.

A Shocking Scene

However, their fears were unnecessary.

“Make way!”

They pushed through the crowd and arrived at the scene…

Only to find Goroemon’s severed head on the ground.

“Oh, you’re finally here.”

“Wha…?”

(That head… it’s definitely Goroemon’s. Did this white-gloved samurai defeat him…?)

“Was this you’re doing?”

“Yeah, I killed this trash. But it was self-defense.”

“I see… Still, we’d like you to come to the magistrate’s office for questioning.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Ryu pulled out a special emblem from his pocket.

“Wait… That’s the Imperial Ambassador’s emblem?!”

(This is bad… This is really bad. The person Goroemon attacked was the worst possible target…)

The officers grew even more nervous.

Ryu wasn’t the type to let an opportunity slip by.

“Relax. I’ll put in a good word when I meet with the Shogun.”

“R-Really?! That would be an honor!”

“In return, I need a good medicine shop. It doesn’t have to be in Edo.”

“Understood! You, take the ambassador to the best one while I handle the body.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even though the officers were trained to handle criminals, they couldn’t have predicted this.

Ryu, as the Imperial Ambassador, had his own reputation to uphold. But since bl00d had been spilled, this was the best way to resolve things for both sides.

Aftermath

From a distance, Esther approached on her horse, Axel.

“Ryu! Are you hurt?!”

“I’m fine. It was a mess, but at least I got something out of it.”

“I see… Not a single drop of bl00d on you. You fought cleanly, huh?”

“Thanks to my sword, Kurikara. More importantly, is it okay to leave the body like that?”

Nearby, Goroemon’s dismembered body lay in pieces. But Esther didn’t seem bothered.

“I’ve seen over a hundred corpses. It’s nothing new.”

“Fair enough. Let’s finish our snacks once things calm down.”

“Thank you… for my sake.”

“Don’t mention it. We help each other out. You’ve done a lot for me, too.”

After getting directions to the medicine shop, Ryu and Esther left the scene.

A Small Reward

Thanks to Goroemon, Ryu got a new accessory.

“Hahaha! That eyepatch looks good on you!”

“Shut up.”

It was an old eyepatch Sebas had given him. Now, it finally came in handy.

(I’m glad I kept it.)

Gathering Medicine

They visited several medicine shops and gathered the ingredients needed for potion-making.

“So even Japan has good medicinal herbs.”

“Some are imported, but most are native. It’s perfect!”

Esther was thrilled to find rare herbs and medical books written by local healers.

But there was disappointing news, too.

“I skimmed through them, but I didn’t find anything on memory-retaining medicine.”

“Then we’ll have to travel Japan and find hidden medical texts.”

“And I’ll eat all the sweets along the way!”

“First, we need to greet the Tokugawa family.”

“Ugh… That’s scary.”

“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll blow their castle away.”

“You’re as dangerous as ever! Hahaha!”

Was he joking to reassure her, or did he actually mean it? Only Ryu knew the answer.

“Let’s find an inn and make the shrinking potion.”

“Yeah. Our other companion is waiting.”

Meanwhile, on a Remote Island…

In a cave near Japan’s shores…

“……” Grrr…
(I’m starving… I might not last a month… But I must endure for the Dragon God…!)

“……” Grrr…

A fire dragon’s stomach rumbled, echoing sadly through the cave.

A Message to Tosa

A few days after the incident, a carrier pigeon arrived at Tosa Castle.

A bearded man stood on the balcony, looking down at the town below.

“Itagaki-san.”

“What is it?”

“News just came in. Goroemon was killed in Edo.”

“…Who did it?”

“The Imperial Ambassador.”

“Hmm…”

Just then, a young samurai silently appeared.

“I will go to Edo.”

“Are you sure?”

“I failed to stop an old friend’s madness. As a Tosa samurai, I must give my thanks in person.”

“You rarely leave Tosa on your own…”

“To be honest, I’m curious. About the man who defeated Goroemon.”

“…I see. Take care.”

The young samurai nodded and disappeared in an instant.

He, too, wore an eyepatch on his gauntlet.