Volume 1
Chapter 3 Part
1
Purify the
Past, Exorcise the Karma 1
Translator : PolterGlast
It was late in the
morning when Saki returned to Rindo's residence in Karen, exhausted from all
the reports she had submitted.
Saki's kimono, which
had been exposed to the miasma emitted by the defiled beasts and her own spirit
techniques, was burnt and tattered in various places.
The men could have
simply wiped their bodies with well water, but Saki, being a lady, was unable
to do so and had to return home without being able to change her clothes.
It would have been
rather embarrassing to return home through the main gate in this state, so she
entered the mansion stealthily through the back gate.
After passing through
the osmanthus planted in the backyard, she quietly entered the mansion through
the back door.
Her nerves were
relaxed as soon as she arrived at her own house, which she was familiar with.
"Haa~,
fuwa~a~a!"
As she stretched out,
a strange sense of satisfaction and sleepiness overtook Saki at once.
"Oh my, Ojō-sama!
What a surprise to find you here！！"
"Fugu~u~!?"
The sudden words
coming from the side made Saki's throat tighten up.
In the direction of
the voice, a middle-aged woman was standing and glaring at her from the doorway
on the porch.
The woman's name is
Shibata Setsuko, a maid in charge of the mansion's management.
"A-, hahaha
...... Setsuko-san, I'm back."
Since Setsuko fully
saw her earlier immodest manner, Saki corrected her posture somewhat awkwardly.
Setsuko let out a sigh
of exasperation, perhaps thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to criticize her.
With that, she changed her mind.
"Yes, welcome
back. Are you about to have a meal?"
"Un. Do you have
anything to eat?"
"Only leftovers
from breakfast......"
"Sure, I'll take
that."
Since she had no time
to eat during the night duty, she was grateful to at least have something to
eat.
She was so hungry
after all this time that she asked Setsuko for a meal.
"Understood. I
will prepare it right away. I have already filled the bathtub with water.
Please wipe yourself first, Ojō-sama. ――Also, Master has been here to see you
since last night."
"Father?"
What a surprise. Rindo
Kozaburo, the head of the Rindo family, is known for his somewhat reclusive
nature.
Currently, all
external negotiations are left to his eldest son, Rindo Yunosuke, thus his
visit to Karen, far away from his domain, was, from Saki's point of view, an
extraordinarily unusual event.
It's the half-yearly
visit to Kihoin. 一He said he would be
here for a week."
"A~a. Is it that
time of year already?"
Although Rindo
Kozaburo had given almost full authority to Rindo Yunosuke in negotiation
matters, he had not yet given up his position as the head of the family to
Yunosuke.
Since the head of the
family had to visit Kihoin himself, he could not leave the responsibility to
Yunosuke.
"After you've
done wiping your body, please be sure to greet Master. ...... Let's have a nice
breakfast afterward."
After cleansing her
body, she would feel so tired that she might go straight to sleep, but it
wouldn't be appropriate to meet him with such a dirt-covered appearance.
It can not be helped,
she decided to endure the drowsiness for the time being.
With that in mind,
Saki walked down the corridor along the porch that leads to her room.
"――Saki."
"Father!?"
As she walked across
the courtyard, she heard a voice calling her from the living room.
A middle-aged man was
sitting on a platform in the living room.
Assuming that her
father would be in the study room in the innermost part of the mansion, Saki
was completely caught off-guard. She bowed her head in a panic.
"My apologies.
――I thought you would be in the study room. I'll go change my clothes right
away, and then I'll come back and greet you afterward..."
"I don't mind.
You just got back after a night duty, I presume. If you change your clothes,
your mind will be relaxed and your thinking will be less precise. Let's hear
your report since you're already here."
"...... Yes.
Excuse me."
Whatever the case, his
father's suggestion should be well-received.
Proceeding to the
living room, she sat down on her knees in front of Kozaburo.
"I've heard the
gist of it. I heard you went on a mountain hunt."
"Yes. It was a
mountain hunt at Mt. Myokaku."
"――I heard that
you killed a Lord."
"According to
Uncle Asogi, it was one that was on the verge of becoming a Lord. It looked
like nothing more than a mere defiled beast, but it easily withstood [Scarlet
Strike] and mutated into a powerful beast as soon as we became aware of its
power."
"The fact that it
withstood [Scarlet Strike] unleashed by the Eight Families is proof enough that
it is a Lord. Well done, you've achieved a great feat. ――Also, it seems that
Genji's sense of perception for this kind of thing is as strong as ever. It
might be a good opportunity to follow his instructions."
"Yes."
"I want to hear
the details. Tell me from the beginning."
Saki nodded her head
in affirmation and began to explain in detail her actions after arriving at Mt.
Myokaku.
The strategy
formulated by the garrison, and how it adjusted to the prevailing situation,
--The fact that the
Lord had withstood [Scarlet Strike] and went beyond its speed to come close to
Saki, the fact that Akira protected Saki and was hit by the Lord's body, and
the fact that the Lord was sealed up, albeit temporarily, by using a water-based,
barrier-type talisman.
As the explanation
progressed, Kozaburo's expression changed from doubtful to suspicious.
"...... Hold on.
Saki, aren't you exaggerating this a bit too much?"
"Exaggerating?
No, I'm telling you everything exactly as is."
"It is hard to
wrap my head around everything you said, though ...... First of all, how did a
single trainee soldier overtake the Lord's leg strength?"
"...... Even
though he overtake it, the Lord was actually charging up against the [Scarlet
Strike]."
"Let's say that
it is true. However, that means this person was able to endure the Lord's
physical assault head-on, no?"
"He did not
actually endure it. His shield was damaged in an instant, and then he was
exposed to the miasma and collapsed."
"Saki dear, being
exposed to miasma is a natural consequence. However, the most powerful physical
impact is at the moment of collision. If someone can survive that, it is the
same as if they can withstand being hit by a ram."
"Ah ......"
She was so distracted
by the insane spectacle that followed that she missed the other, more obvious
insane things.
"And after that,
you said that he used a barrier-type talisman to confine the Lord in ice?"
"Y-yes."
"That's
ridiculous, too. In the first place, you can't possibly get that much effect by
using them in a way that is completely different from their original
purpose."
"B-but it was
actually taking effect. ――Father, I will never lie to you."
"I don't think
you would be lying about such nonsense. However, the official purpose of
barrier-type talismans is to provide support for a permanent barrier. No one
would ever use them to create defensive barriers to keep defiled beasts at bay,
it would be too wasteful, and too lavish."
"...... He
certainly said that he had purchased the talismans with his own money. He
didn't seem to be faking it, and I saw him actually cast the incantation to
activate it."
"Well, I have an
inkling about the water-based, barrier-type talisman. Talismans are always
adjusted to produce a certain effect, but I have heard that very rarely there
are hit and miss cases. ――Perhaps what that person got was one of those rare
lucky ones."
"...... Yes, that
might be so."
She nodded her head and
showed her agreement with Kozaburo's words, yet Saki's tone of voice remained
impassive.
Although she was not
very conscious of it, her impression of Akira was overlapping with the one she
admired at the academy, and therefore, Akira's figure came back to her mind
faintly.
Looking back on it
now, all that happened was nothing but ridiculous things.
Overtaking the Lord's
leg strength and being able to withstand a being of obviously different
physique.
He lavishly used
expensive talismans and has a constitution that is immune to miasma.
――Ah, right, he has a
constitution that is immune to miasma, should I ask Father if he has any idea
what it might be?
Such a thought
suddenly came to her mind. But――
"What's
wrong?"
"...... No, it's
nothing."
In the end, rather
than telling Kozaburo about it, Saki only vaguely mumbled her words.
The person in question
didn't seem to mind it at all, but somehow her sixth sense whispered to her
that Akira's constitution shouldn't be made public.
"Well, let's put
that matter aside for later. ――Let's get down to the main issue, shall we?
Saki, it's about Kuga's son."
As she had expected,
it came to that.
She had expected that
what Kozaburo wanted to hear was not about the mountain hunt, but about Kuga
Ryota.
As Genji had guessed,
the most pressing issue facing Kuga, Rindo, and their heads of families was the
selection of a spouse for Tsuguho, the next head of the Kihoin family.
The eight families are
almost the highest in terms of nobility, but even within the eight families,
there is a strict hierarchy. The criteria for ranking are vague, but one of the
most important is history.
The weight of their
history provides the background for their status as a nobility and a
distinguished family.
Therefore, Ugetsu,
which boasts the oldest history, is unwaveringly ranked first in the hierarchy.
The problem lay in
Shumon Province.
There are two of the
eight families belonging to Shumon, Kuga and Rindo. Each of them is recognized
as the second and fifth respectively, but these two families had a relatively
short history compared to the other eight families.
Shallow historical
background is directly related to a weak voice.
One of the means by
which the Kuga strengthened their voice was through their relationship with
Kihoin.
"As expected,
Kuga's son's manners of conduct could not be changed, huh?"
Kozaburo, roughly
understanding the situation from the expression on Saki's face, grumbled so.
Eight families'
political situation is not taken into consideration at all in the process of
spouse selection. Therefore, the only way is to fix Kuga Ryota's character so
that he can meet the criteria required to be selected as a spouse.
The criteria for
spouse eligibility were not yet disclosed, but it was said that Ryota met all
of the criteria except for his personality.
"Uncle said that
the quickest way is to let him experience a painful failure in actual
combat."
"Didn't he
already experience such failure at Tenryo Academy?"
"Maybe it is
because it wasn't an actual combat ......"
Perhaps feeling not
sure of what she said herself, she trailed off at the end of her sentence.
"Hmm....... Well,
I'll think of something by tomorrow, including the preparations."
Kozaburo crossed his
arms and began to sink into thought.
Once this happens, he
won't be moving for a long time.
Saki decided so, made
a short bow, and left the place.
It was past noon when
Saki went to bed.
The dim sunlight
coming in through the window was bothersome to her half-hearted sleepiness, and
she blinked her eyelids several times.
――I can't sleep.
What comes to mind is
the figure of Akira's back as he confronted the boar.
She didn't even think
it was strange until Kozaburo pointed it out to her, but it is true that
Akira's actions were nothing but abnormal.
He was able to
overtake the boar with his legs and withstand the boar's mighty physique.
――It might be possible
for a guardian to do so.
With the blessing of
the physical strengthening from the [God Descend], not only Ryota Kuga, but
also Ryota Itsuji and Niikura would be able to do it without any difficulty.
――Why didn't I even
wonder about it?
Of course, it is
because Saki is a member of the eight families.
It was the first time
for her to fight in a battle alongside a trainee soldier.
The [God Descend] is a
rudimentary spirit technique for the guardians, and a battle without it could
be considered an unknown experience for Saki and the others.
The fact that Akira,
who was not supposed to be able to use [God Descend] technique, was able to
outperform the Lord's physical strength, was strange no matter what one might
think about it.
Gradually her thoughts
were swallowed by drowsiness.
――A~a. Speaking of
something peculiar, there was one more thing.
Before sinking to the
bottom of the pleasant quagmire, a shard of memory rose to the surface.
The moment when Akira
was about to be trampled by the boar and he used the barrier-type talisman.
Was there something
akin to spirit light radiating from Akira's body?
She might have seen it
wrong. However, in a split second, she caught a glimpse of that radiance.
――A jet-black radiance
of spirit light dancing around Akira's body as if to protect him ......
――That was, that
radiance was .......
With these last
thoughts, Saki finally drifted off to sleep.
――――――――――――――――
At the foot of Mt.
Ootori, where Kihouin resides, there is a castle town where the nobility
reside.
The Chinowa Shrine
that Genji introduced to Akira was located right in the middle of the castle
town.
Akira walked along the
side of the path, trying not to stand out from the crowd of visitors dressed in
stylish clothes, who at first glance could be identified as members of the
aristocracy.
Unlike the bustling
downtown area where many commoners come and go, there is no chaotic atmosphere,
and even the atmosphere has a sense of oppression, as if it rejects Akira.
Passing through the
cobblestone paved pathway, he passed through a red torii gate decorated with a
shimenawa (sacred straw rope).
――At that moment, the
world changed.
It was not that the
world changed in particular. The scenery in Akira's field of vision was the
same as before, and there was no change in the people coming and going to the
shrine.
However, something,
perhaps he could say the atmosphere, has changed.
The pure atmosphere
became even more pure and clear.
――It was as if to
indicate that this is a place befitting the seat of a divine pillar possessing
divine power.
Akira walked along the
pathway leading from the torii gate to the main shrine.
―――Chirin.
Invited by the
soothing sound, he turned his eyes to see wind chimes, a summer tradition,
hanging from the planks of the shrine stalls.
―――Chirin. rin, ri.......
As if inviting, as if
begging. The light breeze at his back and the refreshing sound of the wind
chimes pushed Akira to the shrine office by the main shrine building.
"...... Excuse
me."
Akira walked to the
reception desk of the shrine office and timidly approached the middle-aged
woman in a miko outfit who was writing something on her desk.
"...... A~a, I'm
sorry. Please wait a moment."
The woman glanced at
him and quickly ran her brush through the paper.
After adding a
sentence to the letter or something, she sat down at the reception counter.
"Thank you for
waiting. How can I help you?"
"...... Um, I'm
here to become a shrine parishioner."
"Shrine
parishioner? A~a. You've come to take the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery], I
presume?"
Perhaps the word
"shrine parishioner " rang a bell, she nodded graciously and placed
an unwritten wooden tag in front of Akira.
"Please write
your name on it. If you become a shrine parishioner, you will have to hang the
tag in the main hall to complete your registration."
"Um, but first,
this is my letter of introduction."
He pinched the letter
of introduction given to him by Genji out of his pocket so that it could be
seen and then handed it over. The letter of introduction was addressed only to
Kano Tamio.
The woman looked at
the address on the letter of introduction.
She furrowed her brow,
as if there was something wrong with the person to whom Genji had addressed the
letter.
"Kano-sama? This
is difficult."
"Is there a
problem?"
"Kano-sama is the
previous head priest here. But he retired a month ago and moved to Okutsuki."
"That's
......."
It was certainly a
problem. Okutsuki is a metaphor for Okutsu Castle, or in other words, the
graveyard.
The way she spoke, it
seemed that he had not yet passed away, but he was no longer in a fit physical
condition to move around.
If the letter of
introduction is addressed only to the previous head priest, the validity of the
letter of introduction would be lost.
If a person who knew
the relationship between the person in question and Asogi Genji stepped in to
provide a guarantee, the letter of introduction would be valid, but it was
unlikely that the priest would go to such lengths for a child he did not even
know.
"A~a, the one who
wrote the letter of introduction was Asogi-sama, wasn't it? If so, then......
Please give me a minute. I'll ask the chief priest, maybe he can vouch for
you."
"Oh,
p-please!"
Akira bowed to the
woman as she left the shrine office in a hurry.
He had come all this
way with a lot of determination, so he didn't want to just walk away and go
home.
As he watched the
woman leave for the main shrine building, he looked around the shrine.
The shrine is not very
big, but the prosperity of the town in front of the shrine is more than enough
to attract many visitors.
The shrine is a simple
one, with only a few basic buildings: the main hall, a worship hall, a shrine
office, and a kagura-den.
However, the massive
appearance of the shrine, which is worthy of being called [Five Central
Shrine], gave a sense of unsophisticated history behind it.
More than anything else,
the constant stream of worshippers, who came to visit the shrine in even small
groups, seemed to testify to the spiritual power of this shrine.
――Chiri… n, rin, rin.
The sound of
windchimes from the stalls rang in his ears. Each time, the heat felt on his
skin eased.
Clearly, the heat
regulation here is different from that of the outside world.
Although the scenery
remained the same, the world seemed to have sunk by a thin layer.
One could be drawn to
this place without being aware of it. Is a shrine with authority and a
sanctuary really this different?
Along with a sense of
admiration, such recognition came to his mind.
"――I've made you
wait. I've brought the chief priest."
After a few moments,
he turned around to see a woman and an elderly man standing there.
The man opened the
letter of introduction in his hand, read the contents, and nodded his head
while smiling.
"I see, you've
been introduced by Asogi-dono. With him as your guardian, you must be quite
capable. Kano-dono, the former chief priest, is not here, but Ouma, the chief
priest of the shrine, is allowed to revise the contents in his place. ......
Alright, we'll have an informal ceremony in the shrine office, not in the main
hall, is that all right?"
"No problem. Please
do so."
Or rather, it was the
first time for him to hear that the ceremony would be held at the main shrine
if it were to be formalized.
He did not even know
about the shrine in his hometown that his grandmother took him to, because he
stayed in the shadows by the shrine office.
Well, he was relieved
that the ceremony was not to be held in a grand manner, and that he would not
be publicly humiliated afterward.
"All right. Just
ask Urato-san here about the rest. ――Well, then, Urato-san, please take care of
the rest."
"Very well."
After saying so, the
chief priest, who called himself Ouma, left. The middle-aged woman called Urato
lowered her head and sent him off, then turned to Akira.
"Well then, shall
we perform the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery]?"
"Please."
He had finally made it
this far. Akira let out a breath of relief and bowed his head to Urato.
――――――――――――――――
TIPS: About Chinowa
Shrine.
One of the Five
Central Shrines of Karen.
The most prestigious
shrine among them.
However, it is also famous
for its generosity in accepting shrine parishioners and has the largest number
of them.
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