Chapter 10: Chapter 10 The Investigation

After Azi, Kajima, and Shizu equipped themselves at Kajima's smithy, the trio were making their way to the central section of the village as the group of soldiers, that came along with Ozen, Yashimu, and Shizu, were taking up residence in some of the barracks used by the village watch. While they were walking, Shizu had a noticeable grin on her face whenever Azi turned to meet her gaze. This caused Azi's face to redden due to how he remembered that when he came to from passing out, he noticed that he was drooling and while he would not usually feel that embarrassed drooling, it was different this time as his head was in Shizu's lap. His situation was made worse as Shizu described how much of a dumb face he had when he was sleeping in her lap and that he acted like a docile animal that wanted to be pampered. Shizu's comments had made Azi embarrassed as he didn't know exactly how he acted when he was unconscious and was worried that he had lost the dignity he had as the old one between the two of them.

Azi turned to Shizu, who was following close behind and asked.
Azi: "I would appreciate it if you showed some propriety next time. You should really work on your etiquette skills."

Shizu: "OH so you would like for me to do that again but with propriety?" She said sarcastically.

Azi: *A bit flustered by Shizu's implications he tried to compose himself and stated* "Cheeky Girl, don't tempt me." *As Azi made a reddened pouting face as he admitted his defeat in his mind.*

Shizu: *Taking pride from the results of her teasing, Shizu bellowed* "HAHAHA so you can make a face like that as well eh."

After finishing her laughter Shizu then asked.
Shizu: "In any case, how do you feel? Feeling nervous?"

Azi: "Overall I am a bit excited and scared, so yes. The idea battling with some monster excites me, but I feel scared by how I might die. I don't think I was a soldier, and this is only compounded by the fact that I feel I have very little experience in combat."

Kajima: "Not to worry Azi, since you will be with Shizu and myself, your protection is guaranteed as while I may not be a soldier anymore, I still retain all my skills with a weapon. Additionally, Shizu is considered a talented ordained knight of Kujyuri. She is currently under consideration for becoming the next King, or in this case Queen of Kujyuri. 

Azi looked a bit surprise by Kajima's words and praise about Shizu, but it irked him a bit due how he saw Shizu looking smug as should pushed out her chest proudly. Shizu gave a look to Azi which he could interpreted as her saying *See, I am quite famous aren't I.*

Azi: *Composing himself with a smile she states* "Impressive, what did you do to gain such merit Shizu?"

Shizu: "During the previous war I took to the battlefield under my father Ozen as one of his field commanders. I was able to cause a large amount of damage to our enemy and was able to cripple the main invasion force which bought the army time to make ample preparation for a later surprise attack that was key to the final push to end the war. I was awarded by the emperor and father with a silver seal."

Azi: "What is a silver seal?"

Shizu reached into a pouch on her hip and took out a silver-colored circular piece of metal with what looked like a cherry blossom embossed on its front and Kujyuri's emblem on it back.

Shizu: "This is a silver seal, and it is a reward that can only be obtained with recognition from both a King and the emperor. It shows that I have been recognized as a veteran soldier with a high amount of authority. With it, I am able to hold authority second to that of the King of Kujyuri but this is limited as I can only use this seal in Kujyuri."

Azi was able to understand just how powerful the silver seal was and noted to himself that he should probably stop teasing Shizu as he might feel her wrath should he pushed her too far. So, while swallowing the knot in his throat he praised Shizu.

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Azi: "Well now that I know that I feel a bit more confident. I glad both you and Kajima are with me."

Shizu, was delighted by Azi's compliment but also noticed the auditable swallow that came from Azi and felt that she should tease him a bit after the hunt. The trio, after arriving to barracks in the village, saw Yashimu and a group of soldiers waiting and discussing plans. Yashimu noticed the arrival of the trio and stated.

Yashimu: "Thank you for join us Shizu, I see you brought Kajima and the boy. Why is that?"

Shizu: "Kajima intends to show Azi around the nearby forest to get him familiar with his surroundings. I will be with them to act as protection."

Yashimu: "I am unsurprised that you are still making your own decision even though I am supposed to be the one in charge, but I will allow it. We are short on time as we have only little over a day to finish this investigation." *Thinking to himself that he should brief them on the potential danger, he instead pushed that idea away as he wanted to make haste as time was short* Alright, let's move people our objective is to investigate the nearby forest. We need to eliminate and report any predatory animals or monsters you find. If they escape, make sure you keep a tally and give an accurate report of what happened. AM I UNDERSTOOD SOLDIERS!"

Soldiers: "SIR YES SIR."

The investigation party consisted of 12 parties of 3. 6 parties were assigned to the eastern forest and the same number was assigned to the western forest. Each person in the party was given two metal tubes with a cord attached to the bottom of the tubes. One tube was blue and the other red, all 12 parties were instructed that should they find something unusual the blue tube's cord is to be pulled to launch a blue colored flare and if any party was in danger the red tube's cord should be pulled to launch a red colored flare. In both cases, it is a signal to all parties to meet up with the party that launched the flare. After Yashimu's instruction on the use of the flares, all parties made their way to the forest to begin investigation.

Azi, Kajima, and Shizu were a team assigned to the western forest and while they were walking Azi noticed that he mountain he saw in the distance was likely the one where he and Ozen met. He recognized the far-off ledge near the top of the mountain. Bringing his attention back to the forest in front of him, Azi began to survey his surroundings. He saw large trees of 10 meters in height with no discernible leaves due to winter and also noticed that there were a few large rocks and boulder scatter around the 10-meter-tall trees. The number of rocks and boulders increased as his party made their way closer to the mountain in the distance. What was unusual was that as they got closer to the mountain, Azi could feel that the temperature was slightly increasing. While not hot enough to melt the snow, the change in temperature was noticeable.

Azi: "Does anyone else feel a little warmer?"

Shizu: "Yes, but this is normal. The forests usually have varied temperatures due to the nearby mountain giving different parts of the forest a varied amount of cover from the wind and sun. What is strange though is that a change was noticed only just last week in a previous report, usually the change in temperatures only happen at the change of the season but we are currently mid-winter. Father and I went to investigate and found that a hot spring has recently formed near the top of the mountain. Father had me and my men return first to make a report while he made his final inspection of the surroundings of the hot spring. I believe that this was when you first met him."

Azi: "Yes, I believe I fell unconscious during my journey due to being struck in the head by something and then found myself on the mountain. My clothes were in tatters, and I had no belongings so I believe I might have been robbed then left to die in the mountain by bandits?"

Shizu: "It is odd that we did not find you sooner, but due to how visibly was low during our investigation of the mountain and that we were in a rush since we had little time left in Shisayama it's not surprising that we were cutting a few corners to get work done faster."

Shizu laughed at her comment about cutting corners and resolved herself to do better next time. 

The investigation ran from when the Sun was at its highest point to when it was about to touch the top of the mountain in the horizon. During this time the party encountered and killed beowolves and gengiri, which were respectively a common predatory animal and monster that could be usually found near Shisayama. The beowolves ranged from 1 to 2 meters in length and had an average height of 1 meter. They had black fur with red streaks in its main, red eyes, and sharp wolf teeth in its maw. They were both strong and quick animals which made them hard to deal with but due to how they were a species that did not hunt in packs like the wolves from Azi's memories. These wolves either hunted solo or in pairs with their mate, which made it easy for the party as they could outnumber the wolves in a confrontation. On the other hand, the gengiri were an overgrown insect type monster which had an average size of 1 meter in length and 0.5 meters in height. They used their front feelers to push up the front of their long bodies to make themselves look taller and had an insect like maw with multiple feelers coming from their mouth. They also had a pair of insect jaws that were hard and sharp enough to clash with steel weapons and sturdy enough to dent Azi's metal shield. The gengiri stayed in packs of 4 to 6 so when encountering them, the party would either engage as a group to prevent themselves from being picked off or if there were to many they would flee as the gengiri was slow due to lacking the ability to traverse a forested environment in a quick manner.

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