Looks like Robin has trained them well on this side.
Ren took all of that information in, then withdrew the heat he had been radiating.
The rising temperature inside the cave finally stopped climbing, and everyone present let out a breath of relief.
Hyogoro and Kawamatsu exchanged a look, momentarily at a loss for words. This was their first time seeing the Demon himself.
"Kawamatsu, go down," Hiyori said calmly, sending Kawamatsu back below the steps. Then she shifted aside, making room for Ren to sit.
Her slender, fair hand lifted a jug of wine from the table, but she did not sit where Kawamatsu had been. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, she tentatively leaned toward Ren.
Just what kind of psychological conditioning did Robin do to her…
Ren's gaze turned subtle, but he did not refuse her. Instead, he openly drew her graceful body into his arms.
The moment Hiyori sat down, she felt something pressing against her. Her cheeks flushed at once, but she still shifted her shapely hips and settled herself atop it.
After what had just happened, the atmosphere below the steps had grown somewhat quiet. Almost everyone's eyes were fixed on the platform.
That man holding a beauty in his arms was… a Yonko!
Hyogoro and Kawamatsu first lowered their gazes, as if they did not wish to see the lord they followed sitting there in the role of a "plaything."
But when they thought of everything at stake here, and how all of it still depended on that man's will, they too raised their eyes again.
Kawamatsu looked especially carefully. He very much wanted to understand just what level this Yonko had reached.
But… he did not dare to truly test him. From the moment that man appeared, every instinct he possessed had been screaming a warning.
Do not make any unnecessary move.
Move, and you die!
Ren thought for a moment, but still could not come up with anything worth saying to these people.
They were simply too weak, too insignificant. Whether they were present or not, they could not change the truly important matters.
They were the decorative flower on top of a brocade garment. In fact, not even the whole flower—just one petal among many.
"Handle the matter of arranging a meeting with Yamato properly."
After thinking for a while, Ren decided he would meet Yamato first.
It was not because Yamato was especially important, nor because Robin's assessment was necessarily correct.
It was purely because he was curious what exactly was going on inside Yamato's head.
What kind of person read Oden's journal and then decided they wanted to become a fool like Oden?
What had originally been an extremely important matter came to an end here.
No one questioned whether Ren was real or fake, because among those killed were no shortage of capable fighters, yet none of them had even been given room to struggle.
Nor did Hiyori and the others show any reaction.
And no one dared to question it. Those who had the thoughts, intentions, and courage to question him were already dead.
Hiyori could not have accomplished something like that, because she did not possess enough power.
Led by Kozuki Hiyori, Ren left the cave and came to the rear mountain behind it.
There stood a cluster of Japanese-style residences that had been maintained fairly well.
"Please wait a moment."
Kozuki Hiyori said this, then went to her room to change.
When she appeared before Ren again, she had become radiant and dazzling.
What she wore now was unmistakably the attire she had once used as an oiran, amplifying her own charm to the utmost.
Just as she had once entertained guests in the past, she gently poured water and brewed tea.
There was not much conversation between the two of them. Ninety-nine percent of what Hiyori knew had come from her talks with Robin.
After all, she had only met Ren once before, on that day.
After brewing the hot tea, Hiyori asked with flushed cheeks, "Lord Ren, would you like me to help you drink the tea?"
As she spoke, her gaze was not fixed on Ren, but beneath the table.
From that moment earlier, it seemed it had never gone down…
She did not have any negative feelings about it. On the contrary, she wanted to seize this opportunity.
Through all her past negotiations and exchanges with Robin, Hiyori clearly understood how much weight her side held within Ren's group's plans.
They were cannon fodder meant to create a little trouble for the enemy.
Expendable.
Perhaps even discardable.
And yet, as the current last bloodline of the Kozuki family, she carried the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Wano's people upon her shoulders.
Even if Wano was destined to become Ren's group's territory after victory, at the very least, she had to let the people of Wano escape their past suffering.
She had thought about it for a very long time, and the conclusion she reached was that resisting with strength was impossible.
What she could do was attack from another angle.
With Robin's vague hints, Hiyori quickly thought of the weapon she possessed.
The weakness that all men inevitably had.
Of course, she knew her own past very well. It was impossible for her to obtain the same outcome as the others.
What she sought now was simply to leave an impression on Ren's side.
To prevent the entire Kozuki family and the rebel forces from being used like a rag and then thrown away.
Under such circumstances, Kozuki Hiyori became terrifyingly proactive.
"What sort of way would you drink it?" Ren asked curiously.
Then he saw Kozuki Hiyori lift the warm tea and drink it all in one go.
After that, she rose and slipped into his arms, facing him directly, allowing him to taste the warm tea from her lips.
A long while later, Hiyori pulled away, panting softly. Ripples of moisture shimmered in her blue eyes.
The oiran robes on her body had already fallen into disarray.
And through careful movements, she allowed him to study the hidden mysteries within.
Hiyori's cheeks grew even rosier. Her jade-white hand undid her own sash, opening her heart to the devout researcher before her.
Her other hand pressed against Ren's chest. After "diagnosing" where the ailment lay, the oiran naturally slid her hand downward and undid the restraint.
She really is beautiful. Wano's greatest beauty.
Ren admired the "beauty" before him.
Round, proud, with curves as striking as mountain ridges.
This was exactly why the lower house had nearly argued loudly enough to tear the roof off earlier. Fortunately, it had now been slightly soothed by the hand of a skilled physician.
"Lord Ren…"
Hiyori used a pitiful, pleading tone as she begged her master, "May I serve you… and let you experience the skills of an oiran?"
"Then do it yourself."
Ren pinched her with great interest, then lay down on the tatami.
Unexpectedly, Hiyori's numbers did not seem to be that high.
"I shall dance for you," Hiyori suddenly said.
"Hm?"
Ren was somewhat puzzled, but then he experienced the techniques of an oiran.
The woman who could mesmerize Wano's villains as the foremost courtesan naturally could not possess beauty alone.
Kozuki Hiyori's skills were also a crucial factor.
At the very top of that list was naturally her musical performance, but even at negative distance, she also knew how to display her charm to the greatest possible extent.
Outside, Kawamatsu, who was guarding the door, looked as if he wanted to speak, then stopped. Then he seemed to want to speak again, only to stop once more.
In the end, under Hyogoro's watchful stare, he merely sighed and did nothing.
(End of Chapter)