Volume 1
Chapter 3 Part
3
Purify the
Past, Exorcise the Karma 3
Translator : PolterGlast
Akira's blurred vision
suddenly cleared, and before he knew it, he was standing in the precincts of a
shrine that closely resembled Chinowa Shrine.
The place, illuminated
by the early summer sunlight, was brightly lit but dominated by a chilly
silence, with no sign of life, let alone humans.
Looking around
anxiously, he looked up at the front shrine to see if he had arrived and if he
was really in the right place.
He read the name of
the shrine hanging above the hall of worship.
"...... Shourou (Bell Tower) Shrine."
Reading the name out
loud, he confirmed it.
At last, he finally
arrived.
He let out a big sigh
of relief.
The name of the place
sounded similar, so there is no doubt that this is the land of the Bell Tower.
With his little
restored energy, he stretched his back and turned his feet to the shrine office
on the right side of the hall of worship.
"...... Um,
excuse me."
He called out as he
straightened up facing the reception desk of the shrine office, which was a
little dimly lit due to the towering oak tree at the side.
Inside the office, a
woman of similar stature to the woman at the Chinowa Shrine was sitting with a
blank expression on her face that also resembled a Noh mask.
"We have been
waiting for you. I am the one who has been entrusted with the protection of the
land of the Bell Tower."
Although the one
called out to the shrine office was a child, she bowed deeply without showing
any sign of surprise.
How did she know that
I was coming here? Such a question crossed his mind, but again, it seemed that
he still could not express anything other than a specific sentence, and it did
not come out of his mouth.
"...... I've come
to receive the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery]."
Both doubts and
laments just melt away and disappear, ending up just opening and closing his
mouth for no reason at all.
Instead, all that
remained was a strangely calm emotion, and all that came out of his mouth was
such a monotonous request.
"We accept your
request."
The woman nodded
solemnly and placed a hexagonal lottery box on the reception table.
"Go ahead, please
draw."
Akira, who had taken
the form of a child of about 10 years old, could not question the situation he
was in and lifted the lottery box with both hands without being asked to.
Just like the previous
lottery box, he shook it two or three times.
*Rustle*. With a light
sound, a single folded piece of paper fell on the table.
"Please confirm
your result."
Prompted by the
emotionless woman's voice, Akira opened the lottery paper and looked at its
contents.
Inside is a pure white
sheet of paper.
However, after looking
at it for a while, black ink gradually emerged and a sentence was written.
"――[Present
yourself, at the land of the Himorogi
(Sacred Cloth)]..."
Akira's strength,
which had been on the verge of recovery, suddenly faded away.
It had been such a
struggle to get to this place. And yet, even after finally arriving at this
place, he was told to go to another sacred land.
Even with his hazy
thoughts, it was easy for Akira to imagine that the journey ahead would also be
filled with agony.
"――It is located
in the forest that protects the Kimon
(Northeastern) of Karen."
"......Yes."
As Akira turned on his
heel, the woman's voice was heard on his back.
"A word of
advice."
The woman's tone of
voice was the same as that of the previous woman.
"From now on, you
will undergo four pilgrimages. ――It is all right to be troubled. It is all
right to admit it. But don't be swallowed by it. Don't abandon it."
Although he did not
understand what was being said, he accepted it as a kind of preparation.
Just like before, the
woman's voice sounded as if she was concerned about Akira.
That said, Akira
didn't have the luxury of trying to understand her words.
Still, he returned a
slight nod and gave his thanks to the woman.
Then, she gently
lowered her gaze to the departing Akira and muttered.
".......We wish
you good luck. If you were to be bound by your lineage. ――You would have to let
go of who you are."
――――――――――――――――
Outside the torii gate
of Shourou Shrine, there was a straight line of cobblestone pavement that went
on forever.
It was the same kind
of stone pavement.
He had expected this,
so he was not surprised.
The only change was
that the world seemed to waver like a mirage as if it were under a heat haze.
一He took his first step forward.
――Is this the
right thing to do?
It is a question that
seemed a little too late now.
Should I have
turned back?
Thinking about it
calmly, the situation seemed rather suspicious, as if he was being bewitched by
an apparition.
Well, what good would
it accomplish to bewitch a child that doesn't even have a spirit?
Just like before,
muddy air weighed down on his body as if he were underwater.
The weight that cannot
be shaken off has not changed, but he is aware of the fact that his thoughts
have been given a little more freedom.
However, as if guided
by something, his feet never stopped.
He trudged through the
empty lined-up stores, where silence reigned, with a sense of exhaustion,
drowsiness, and a sense of futility as if he was being dragged around in vain.
Although he was
unaware of it, Akira's appearance was already reduced to that of a child of
about seven years old.
The good news is that
his age won't go down any further.
――…… You're a hindrance.
Suddenly, such words
came back to him from the depths of his memory.
Whose words were they?
After thinking back a little, he remembered.
It was the first time
he met Souma, and those were the words that were spoken to his face.
……It was when he was
seven years old and in the midst of receiving a scolding from his father.
It was at that time
when Souma, who was finally allowed to participate in the family meeting at the
age of six, said the following words to Akira,
who had been forced to prostrate himself as if he were a criminal.
――You are a
hindrance. Abandoned by the spirits, incompetent with less than mediocre
abilities.
――You're causing
trouble for our father just by being alive, and now you're clinging to the
family's head for protection just because you were born a year earlier than me?
How could they distort
Akira's image so severely?
It is true that Akira
has no spirit, but his abilities are not that low.
Naotoshi Fuwa even
acknowledged that he is quite good in terms of academic ability.
He received so much
malice from a person he had met for the first time.
At that time, Akira
still had a little bit of pride left in him. He scratched the tatami mats and looked
up angrily.
――What are
you~!?…… Ga~h~ .......
The moment he raised
his face vigorously, one of the vassals who was close to Akira hit him.
It was definitely not
the kind of physical strength to be exerted against a seven-year-old child.
The well-trained
physical strength of a trained warrior easily knocked Akira off his feet and
dropped his body to the edge of the courtyard that led from the council
chambers.
――You imbecile.
How dare you talk back to Souma-sama!?
......My apologies, Master. I have raised my hand
against something entrusted to us by our Lord. Punish me however you wish.
――......I don't mind. We have been entrusted by our
Lord Gioin-sama with the responsibility of educating it.
They are not so
narrow-minded as to be offended when it comes to disciplining a beast.
――Thank you very
much！！
――Hmph, are you
still conscious? Quick, get back to your seat and prostrate yourself. Everything
Souma says is correct. Just the fact that you are alive makes me sick.
From the time his grandmother's
health began to deteriorate, Akira's treatment began to worsen at an
accelerated rate.
In fact, there were
even some instances where they were leading Akira to suicide or accidental
death before Gioin found out about his absence of a spirit.
――Looking back, they
were no longer family.
New tears welled up.
However, his lips were contorted into a smile.
It was more like a
comedy than a tragedy at the end of the heart-wrenching despair.
Akira's memories of
Souma blurred and faded from his memory in the form of tears.
As the coiled
stagnation in his memory further diminished, Akira's vision flooded with light.
――――――――――――――――
After the light
receded from his vision, Akira was standing in the precincts of yet another
shrine.
Perhaps it was near a
mountain ridge. The sun was still high in the sky, but the place was dimly lit
and had a somber atmosphere.
"――We have been waiting
for you. ■■-sama."
In front of the hall
of worship, which was decorated with a large nameplate saying Himorogi (Sacred Cloth) stood a woman,
slightly over 18 years old, even younger than the woman before her, and she
bowed her head.
The difference in
height between her and Akira, who is now about seven years old, is obviously
huge. Akira looked up at her and said for the third time.
"...... I've come
to receive the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery]."
"We accept your
request."
He grabbed the lottery
box that was being offered to him and shook it a couple of times.
Akira had become
expressionless.
He felt a strong sense
of "whatever". He had already guessed what was going to come out of
the lottery.
*Rustle*. He picked up
the lottery paper that fell to the ground and read the emerging sentences.
"――[Present
yourself, at the land of Mitsutorii]..."
"It is located in
the forest that protects the Heavenly Throne of Karen."
He didn't feel like
asking anymore, but the woman told him regardless.
"You will be
tested three times. ――Refuse to be indulged by your past. Refuse to be swayed
by the past. Let yourself be guided by the past."
Is this some kind of
guideline? Akira, whose thoughts had once again begun to fade, accepted the
words without a second thought.
However, just as
Akira, who was about to abandon even his thoughts, turned on his heel, the
woman's voice reached his ears as if whispering to him.
"We wish you good
luck. You are about to challenge the heavenly stairs. All the honors and
regrets of this world will be for naught."
"......Eh?"
He unintentionally
turned around to inquire about the meaning of those words, but there was nobody
there.
Only the silence of
the shrine's precincts greeted Akira's vision, telling him that there was no
one to answer his question.
He opened and closed
his mouth in vain, he gave up and turned towards the Torii gate.
――――――――――――――――
What memory will greet
Akira next?
Akira is neither
slow-witted nor insensitive. Although vaguely, he was aware that each time he
walked along the pavement, the past would surface and disappear as if it were
being peeled off or gouged out.
He just kept walking
mindlessly on the cobblestone pavement illuminated by the blazing sun.
Perhaps it was because
the lees in his heart that he had been burdened with were peeled away, the
weight that weighed down his steps was much lighter than it was at the beginning.
――What keeps you alive
is our loyalty to Gioin and your grandmother's mercy.
A~a, as expected.
After Sanae and Souma, it was only natural that the next memory would be of
Tenzan.
The most abominable
existence was throwing contempt from the depths of his memory.
To Akira, Tenzan was
his absolute superior.
Depending on his mood,
there was a good chance that Akira would be killed.
But even for Tenzan,
Akira was nothing but an abomination. For Tenzan, Gioin is a worthy main
household to whom he can devote his loyalty, and for that reason, he seemed to
be annoyed that Akira, who was chosen to be Gioin's spouse, was a half-assed
thing without a spirit.
Since killing or
abandoning Akira might have displeased Gioin, he was never directly touched,
but Akira knew that Tenzan had tried several times to remove Akira and replace
his position with Souma.
Even so, Akira was
able to survive until the last minute, ironically thanks to Tenzan's strong
sense of pride. The reason was that if it became public knowledge that Akira
was devoid of a spirit, it might leave an everlasting stain on Ugetsu's family
name.
――This is a fatal
disgrace to Tenzan's pride that he must avoid.
In this sense, Akira's
grandmother's protection would have served no more than a thin layer of protection
for Tenzan.
However, breaking
through the grandmother's protection meant that he would be forced to spread
the word to those around him that he had conspired to kill Akira.
Because of his own
pride, Tenzan was caught in a quagmire of self-imposed constraints.
It was nothing short
of a miracle that Akira was able to continue walking on a tightrope until he
was 10 years old.
It was also around the
time when his grandmother became bedridden that the tightrope broke down.
With the death of his
grandmother, Akira's torment increased in frequency. It was not known who had
put the idea in motion, but the fact that Akira's name was not included in the
terms of the engagement with Gioin was the trigger for his banishment.
In other words, it was
quite a forced reasoning, but Tenzan realized that as long as he could still
fulfill the condition of being engaged to Gioin by using the term
"Ugetsu's legitimate heir", he would be able to banish Akira.
At this point, Tenzan
took Souma with him to all events except those involving Gioin.
The groundwork was
already laid for Souma to be recognized as a legitimate heir.
――One of the reasons you
are allowed to live will disappear in the near future. After that, you will be
banished.
These were the words
that Tenzan had said to Akira to his face a month before his banishment.
――If you feel even a
little indebted to us for having kept you alive this long, we would like to
tell you to take your own life, but it would be difficult at your age. We would
be happy to do it for you, but it would be a nuisance if your blood is
contagious with incompetence. We hope you will quickly disappear and die
somewhere out there.
All of this was said
to Akira, who remained prostrate, unable to speak, in the presence of all of
the vassals.
Akira's ego were cut
off without any defense, and the vassals, including Tenzan, laughed and scorned
him.
――In order to prove our
loyalty to the main household, we will not allow you to live in Kokuten.
――If you're going to
cling to the family even after this, I'll use all of Ugetsu's strength to crush
you.
This was a sentence of
execution issued to Akira.
At that time, the
decision was rescinded due to the intervention of Fuwa Naotoshi and his
grandmother's words, who had recovered a little from her illness.
However, after the
death of his grandmother, this decision was brought up again and was finally
adopted.
There was no longer
any feeling of hatred toward Tenzan. Instead, all he could feel was a thick, sludge-like
feeling clinging to the walls of his heart.
――His memory of Tenzan
dissolved into tears and disappeared along with the emotion.
――He feels himself
becoming nothing.
Without a second
thought, he looks at his own palms.
With the sensation of
becoming nothing, he could see his palms, his arms, and his entire body
becoming thin and transparent.
There is no fear.
Normally, he would have gone into a panic, but most of his emotions had melted
away along with his memories.
――Akira could no longer
decide whether this was right or wrong.
However, just as
Akira's figure became transparent, his vision was filled with light to the next
land.
――――――――――――――――
"Mitsutorii
......"
At this shrine,
nothing was hung in the hall of worship.
Instead, the nameplate
hung on a unique torii gate standing on three legs.
――Looking around, he saw
nobody. Nobody was there.
What should I do? At a
loss, he walked to the front of the hall of worship.
Then, he finally
noticed it. There, hidden beside the offering box at the front of the shrine,
sits a young girl of about 12 years old.
As soon as he saw her,
he understood that she was the same as the women he had seen before.
"Umm ......"
"I know."
But unlike the women
he had seen before, the girl had shown a certain emotion, albeit faintly.
"This is the
first time that someone truly visited this land. ――Un. I didn't even think that
a human being who can undergo [Misogiharae] could exist."
Was that supposed to
be a word of welcome? The nature of the sentiment behind her words is something
that Akira just can't understand.
However, it was a
relief that he did not sense any rejection.
The world reflected in
Akira's eyes is still bright with the early summer sunlight.
But why does the whole
world seem somehow gloomy?
Apart from the
scorching heat, he felt a chill down his spine that was somehow akin to fear,
and his body shivered.
"――It can't be helped.
Because you have dived down to this depth. This place is normally a sanctuary
where human beings are not even allowed to set foot. It is only because you are
the ■■ of ■■, that you are allowed
to enter this world."
Gaining momentum, the
girl descends from the worship hall into the shrine precincts.
The speed of the
descent and the gesture are also swaying and slow, almost like being
underwater.
"―― [Misogiharae]...?"
Akira's thoughts were
so restricted that he could not ask any questions, but there were words he
could still speak nonetheless.
"......
Wrong."
"Wrong?"
Shaking off the hazy
thoughts, he desperately tried to spin his words.
"I came here
...... just to receive the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery]."
"It's the
same." "...Eh?"
"Both [Shrine
Parishioner Lottery] and [Misogiharae] are the same ceremony to ask us about
the will of the gods."
"The ...
same?" "Yes."
Contrary to Akira's
desperation, he was answered rather lightly, and he suddenly felt relaxed,
thinking that if they were the same, then it would be okay.
"Then, ...it's
okay. ―― I've come to receive the [Shrine Parishioner Lottery]."
"We accept your
request."
Then, the lottery box
was presented in front of him for the umpteenth time.
Akira's transparent
hand gripped the lottery box firmly, even though it looked unreliable, and
shook it once in a big motion.
*Rustle*. A single
folded piece of paper easily fell on the cobblestone pavement of the precincts.
As he bent down to
pick up the paper, the girl's white fingers plucked it up ahead of him.
"Here you
go."
"......Thank
you."
He expressed a short
word of thanks and opened the lottery ticket.
The content written on
the lottery paper is also short and one sentence.
"――[Present
yourself, at the land of Kugatachi]..."
A sigh escaped from
his mouth on the surface of his consciousness, which had ceased to ripple.
"It is located in
the forest that protects the sovereignty of the people in Karen."
――A~a, right.
That was Akira's
honest response to the girl's words.
Akira's entire
existence is currently filled mostly with numbing emotions.
The muddy, dull
emotions had melted away in tears along with the memories of his family.
What remains at the
bottom of Akira's memory is resignation and the memory of a faint smile.
It was the very will
to live that Akira did not want to let go of.
"Hey."
The girl whispered.
"I knew about
you."
"......" Was
that supposed to be some sort of consolation? Spontaneously, the edges of his
mouth contorted.
"Even if you
don't notice it, you have been supported by a lot of children."
He raised his head.
Beyond his vision, he saw a young girl's smile, faint but kindly.
"We are allowed
to interfere with the principles of this world, but we are not allowed to
interfere with how this world operates. ...... because that is the prerogative
of the chosen ones."
"However, in
order to protect and guide you, numerous children have transgressed beyond
their jurisdiction and violated the taboo."
That's why,
don't ever forget it. Please remember.
――remember that
you are not alone.
The girl whispered
gently to him. Just like the women before her.
"You will
eventually come to a crossroads. ――Doubting the present time is wicked. Being
grateful for the present time is virtuous."
*Flicker*, the girl's
figure becomes transparent as if melting into the heat haze.
Even so, the girl
still smiled and said.
"We wish you good
luck. You are about to reach the sky. If you are the human miracle that the
Supreme Being longs for. If you wish for it at the end of your ordeal, then
surely――"
――the world will
respond to you.
――――――――――――――――
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