Volume 1
Side Story 2
Ugetsu's
Celebration, the Breaking Point is like the Sound of a Ringing Bell
Translator : PolterGlast
―Kokuten Province, Samidare Territory.
At Ugetsu's main
residence.
The good news arrived
in Ugetsu in the midst of the regular breakfast with all the vassals after the
weekend's morning assembly.
"―Is that
true!?"
Even Ugetsu Tenzan,
who was usually known for his strict sense of decorum, was so elated by the
unexpected news that he almost fell to his knees and asked the maidservant who
relayed the news.
"That
Pseudo-Kegare has died!?"
"Y-yes! An
official from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has just arrived to deliver
the news."
"Where is the
official? Has he gone home?"
"No, he is
waiting for you in the guest room."
"Well done! I'll
attend to him after I finish my meal."
"Understood."
After the maid left
the room, Tenzan sat down and resumed his meal.
With a look of
unquenchable excitement, the grilled fish and stewed vegetables disappeared into
his mouth.
He noticed that there
was a cheerful clamor among the vassals as well.
"Dear......!"
"Congratulations,
Father."
In the midst of all
this, his wife, Sanae, with tears in the corners of her eyes, and his son,
Souma, who had completed his training as an apprentice guardian in the capital,
Nanatsuo, spoke to him with a joy that almost rivaled Tenzan's.
"Umu. I'm sorry
for making you wait so long. I never thought the mere fact that that thing was
still breathing somewhere would cause us so much trouble. ―Even though I spent
a lot of time and effort arranging for him to die in a few days, that filth
sure was persistent."
He turned his
rarely-seen smile toward Souma and spat curses at the boy who was supposed to
be his other son.
However, the vassals
who gathered there naturally responded to Tenzan's words with a smile and a nod
in return.
No wonder.
Right after they
banished Akira, Tenzan and the others thought that they could get rid of the
problem by informing the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs of Akira's death and
replacing his legitimate son with a new one, but things did not go well for
them.
First and foremost,
the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs did not acknowledge Akira's death on the
basis of the fact that his soul stone had not lost its brilliance.
Even if they could
sneak inside, it would still be difficult to interfere with the Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs, which is under the jurisdiction of Hisashi, and the
recognition of Ugetsu Souma as a legitimate son could not be officially
acknowledged on paper, regardless of the perception of the surroundings.
This fact has
persisted until now, and Tenzan can no longer hide his frustration at the fact that
his expectations were off.
Tenzan's salvation was
that Akira's presence was not leaked to other families because he never brought
Akira along to public events.
Ironically, even
though Gioin was aware of the reality of Akira's absence from the public eye,
they remained silent, which was one of the reasons Tenzan was able to foster
his scheming.
From Gioin's
perspective, they wanted to eliminate the risk of Akira's existence becoming
known to the other provinces.
The reality was the
exact opposite of what Tenzan had in mind, but the coincidence of their
intentions was what led to this fateful turn of events.
Although Tenzan was
unaware of it, the failure to eliminate Akira from the registry of legitimate
sons, starting with the fact that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs did not
acknowledge Akira's death, had delayed Ugetsu from making the fact of Akira's
banishment known to Gioin to this point.
Days passed in
frustration without being able to change the situation.
Furthermore, since the
beginning of this year, he has been approaching the limit of declining the
invitation for a meeting between Gioin Shizumi and Ugetsu Akira, who was
scheduled to be betrothed in October during Kanna Festival.
Just as he was
beginning to think that it would be impossible to complete the legitimate son
changeover before the fact of Akira's spiritlessness became known to Gioin, he
received the long-awaited good news.
Tenzan finished his
meal in an elated mood.
"But all of those
hardships will end today. We shall announce Akira's death and Souma's
recognition as a legitimate heir to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs."
Tenzan raised his water-filled
sake cup high in the air and announced triumphantly to the vassals that were
present.
"Now that the
abominable pseudo-kegare is gone, we can proudly proceed with Souma's
succession as the next head of the family and as a future son-in-law to the Gioin!
Let's have a banquet to celebrate!"
""Congratulations!""
Upon hearing his
words, the vassals all raise their cups with smiles on their faces.
Having had his
long-held frustration lifted, Tenzan drained his sake cup in a good mood and
left his seat to meet with the officials.
Apart from the hustle
and bustle of his surroundings, Fuwa Naotoshi went on with his meal alone,
feeling heavy.
He had lost his
appetite and put his chopsticks down beside the bowl of broth made of eggplant.
Ha~a. His exhaled
breath was obviously heavy.
The atmosphere around
him was one of celebration, but Naotoshi was the only one mourning Akira's
death.
Akira was the first
student whom Naotoshi taught.
Therefore, he had many
emotions about it.
Tenzan and his
vassals, who knew what was going on, casually belittled Akira, but in terms of
sheer excellence, he could have been rated even better than Souma.
In fact, he had
mastered the writing of the most difficult of all spells, the Regeneration
Talisman, at the age of 10.
This is a remarkable
accomplishment.
This is because to
write a Regeneration Talisman, one must understand the Taiji diagram, be able
to read the dragon's veins, and write the mantra in an orderly fashion.
In order to accomplish
this, it is necessary to draw the dragon vein into one's own spiritual realm.
Moreover, one has to
pay attention to the changes in the veins and change the mantra accordingly.
The skill is so rare
that anyone who is able to create a regeneration talisman can unconditionally
call themselves a master talisman.
Naotoshi was saddened
by the fact that Akira's skills had gone unappreciated and lost in vain.
After finishing his
meal in a melancholy mood, Naotoshi lifted up his heavy shoulders.
"Fuwa-sensei."
"Souma-kun,
what's the matter?"
As Naotoshi was
walking down the corridor, Ugetsu Souma called out to him behind his back.
He stopped walking and
looked back at Souma, trying to hide his depressed expression.
"No, it's not
really something important. In the past, Fuwa-sensei was also in charge of
teaching that thing, right? The fact that that thing is no longer with us I
thought it might be a relief for Fuwa-sensei as well."
"……Please don't
mind me. Akira-kun had more than enough talent as a master talisman. As a
teacher, I regret that he should have been a valuable student to teach."
Naotoshi, who is
currently in charge of teaching Souma, shook his head lightly, avoiding direct
comments to Souma's words.
He implicitly compared
the accomplishments of Souma and Akira, and criticized Ugetsu's actions in a
roundabout way.
Realizing this, Souma
repeated his words in a somewhat snide manner.
"......That's not
nice to hear. Shouldn't Fuwa-sensei already be aware of that thing's
incompetence? To begin with, it should be obvious that someone without a spirit
cannot be a master talisman."
"The creation of
a talisman should be considered separately from the presence or absence of
spiritual power. Akira-kun had the skill to write a regeneration talisman. The
fact that he reached that level at the age of 10 should be highly commended.
Souma-kun, you should be aware that you are far behind Akira-kun when it comes
to creating talismans."
Souma is 12 years old
this year and just recently became able to create a water-type offensive
talisman.
To give him fair
credit, he is more than competent enough.
However, compared to
Akira, who was able to write a regeneration talisman at the age of 10, one
cannot deny that he is still below Akira when it comes to the art of talisman
making.
Perhaps Souma himself
was aware of this, he was silenced by Naotoshi's second sentence.
However, even though
his words were silenced, he did not seem to be satisfied with his current
situation.
There is no doubt that
Souma is a genius, one of the top few in the history of Ugetsu.
Even excluding the
fact that he possesses a divine spirit, he excels in martial arts and is
skilled enough in literature to be able to work as a civil official in a noble
family.
In addition, Naotoshi
recognized his good-natured and nonconceited character, his dexterity in
managing interpersonal relationships, and the fact that he is so well respected
by the people around him to the extent that he could become a great politician
as well.
Tenzan's doting and
foolish parental behavior toward Souma never stopped, and this year he even
began to let Souma carry Futsu-no-Awai, the divine artifact of Ugetsu.
However, no matter how
talented he was, it was also a fact that Souma hated Akira as if he were his
enemy.
Akira was his older
brother, and he was accepted by Gioin, the main family, even though he didn't
deserve it.
For Souma, Akira was
an existence who had easily obtained a position that he could not have wished
for.
The fact that there is
a field in which he is a step below Akira is not something that Souma is
experienced enough to easily accept.
"......Starting
tomorrow, I will be going to the Sangamisaki territory to subjugate
apparitions. The earliest I can expect to return is about two weeks. Please
keep in mind that I will be tutoring you in the art of talisman after
that."
"―Yes."
Naotoshi quickly ended
the almost futile conversation caused by Souma's silence and took his gaze away
from him.
Understanding this, Souma
responded with a nod without showing any particular rebuttal.
After parting ways
with Souma, Naotoshi walked out the front door of Ugetsu's mansion, and
scrutinized his eyes when he felt a cold touch on his cheek.
The blue of the sky,
which had been clear and sunny just a few minutes earlier, was now tinted a
slightly lighter shade of black.
"Rain,
huh?......"
The air is rather dry.
Deciding that it was probably just a passing drizzle, he went outside without
an umbrella.
The rain was not that
heavy, but contrary to his expectation, the raindrops hitting his cheeks were
so cold that it was hard to believe that it was early summer.
The coldness of the
rain made him feel an indescribable sense of foreboding.
"I hope it is not
a bad omen......"
He hastily kept his
mouth shut so that the words he had unintentionally uttered would not cause a
slip of the tongue.
However, once he
remembered the bad omen, he could not wipe it from his mind, and Naotoshi ran
down the main street in a short run.
All that remained was
the lonely sound of the drizzling raindrops.
For a while after
Naotoshi left, not a soul could be seen around.
Contrary to Naotoshi's
expectations, the rain remained unseasonably cold and kept falling throughout
the day.
――――――――
On the evening of the
day that the Ugetsu mansion was in the midst of a joyous celebration, two girls
stepped out of the station building at Haraku Station, which was shrouded in a
light, drizzling rain.
*Chirin*.
The bell tied to the
naginata bag carried by one of the girls rings, as if to hurry her.
Upon hearing the
sound, the girl with the naginata bag muttered, looking deeply emotional.
"―It's really
possible to make it to Haraku in a single day, huh?"
"Yeah, we manage
to do it somehow. But it was a little reckless to cross over one territory in
just one night, and I feel bad for Yoshimori-san. Kaede, shall we go to the
branch office now?"
The girl with the
sword sack on her shoulder asked the girl with the naginata bag, Chidjiwa
Kaede.
Kaede responded with a
sigh and placed her hand on her cheek.
".......I've
already sent a telegram to The branch manager of the Chidjiwa Company and my
confidant should already be there. I've given them strict orders to keep it a
secret, so unless they're really stupid, they shouldn't have screwed up in any
way that would make Ugetsu find out what we're up to. ―But what I'm worried
about is Ugetsu's movement. If they had intentions of rebelling, they would
have expected Gioin to make a move. And yet, they are moving too slowly."
Yes. Chidjiwa Kaede
and her companion Sonomi. The two who were the close attendants of Gioin took
action without any proper disguise and drove a steam-powered car across the
border of the territory.
If Ugetsu had
intentions of rebelling, they would have surely reacted before the girls
entered their territory.
However, there was no
sign that Ugetsu had made any attempt to contact them even after they crossed
the border of Uki Territory and entered the capital.
"What if they
were to lead us into the capital and then shut us down when we were no longer
in the public eye?"
"In a more dire
situation, sure, but in a case like this, it would be a bad move to do."
Guess so. Kaede, while
thinking so, dismissed the predictions of Ugetsu's future actions that Sonomi
had somehow managed to mention.
Sonomi knew that she
was going to get a response like that, so she did not feel particularly
offended. She made a few more predictions, but no good ones came out that would
be the decisive blow.
Eventually, she
shrugged her shoulders and gave up on further thoughts.
Rather than wasting
time in vain, she switched her thinking to understanding the current situation.
"......Well,
whatever. For now, our objective is to figure out the whereabouts of
Akira-sama, correct? There is no reason for Akira-sama to turn against Gioin,
and supposing that Ugetsu was planning to rebel, they would not be able to
touch Akira-sama easily."
"......That's
true."
After a brief silence,
Kaede agreed.
Kanna-no-Mikura is an
existence that is enough for a mere mortal to be able to influence the Divine
Pillars, let alone the Sannomiya Shi-in.
However, if one were
to injure Kanna-no-Mikura in accordance with one's own desires, the person who
did so would be forced to experience despair so great that he or she could not
even die.
Originally, spirits
and divine pillars would never interfere with worldly affairs.
Although this is an
unwritten rule of the ancient covenant, there are exceptions to everything.
One such exception is
interference with those who have messed with beings belonging to the Divine
Pillars.
―The Divine Pillars, the sovereign of the elements, are
extremely averse to interference in their respective symbolic domains.
This is because the
symbol, the domain of the Divine Pillar, is, in the extreme, synonymous with one's
own self, the foundation that constitutes the Divine Pillar.
In the Age of God
Cvenant, Kanna-no-Mikura is an existence meant to be bound to the Divine
Pillar.
This is why they are
called the "companions of the gods," a clause that is positioned on top
of the Age of God Covenant.
In other words, if
they physically touched Akira, which is synonymous with the domain of the
Divine Pillar, they would incur the wrath of Genrei, the great divine pillar of
Kokuten Province, and thus the downfall of Ugetsu would become a certainty.
Even if he was
plotting something, Ugetsu Tenzan was not so stupid as to enrage a Divine
Pillar.
Therefore, even though
it had come to this point, not only Sonomi and Kaede, but even Gioin Shizumi,
were still looking at the situation rather optimistically.
―They thought, at least, Akira's survival could be
guaranteed.
And that was exactly
what Gioin had misunderstood.
Ugetsu Tenzan did not
harbor any intent of rebellion.
Rather, he believed
that his loyalty to Gioin was his pride.
The only thing go
wrong with this is that Ugetsu has lost something that is only passed down
orally to the heads of the eight families. It is about the existence of
Kanna-no-Mikura.
Ugetsu, who had come
this far without any knowledge of Kanna-no-Mikura, and Gioin, who had knowledge
of Kanna-no-Mikura.
This misunderstanding
was about to be exposed in the worst possible way.
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