Volume 2
Side Story 5
Unseen
Questions, "Kagome-Kagome"*1 and Probing
*1 Kagome-Kagome is a traditional Japanese nursery rhyme
Translator : PolterGlast
"――Wake up."
".............Gah~"
Along with a dull
sound, a sharp pain shot through Kanou's abdomen.
The impact, which hit his
lungs, choked him and made him cough as he came to his senses.
"Ugh,
......ooo."
"Don't be so
hysterical, you fool."
As Kanou's body
struggled helplessly from convulsions, someone stepped on him from behind and
thrust a silver blade at the tip of his nose.
The blade's disturbing
brilliance brought back memories of the time just before he fell unconscious.
"...... An
assassin from Dogyou family, huh? Pointing your blade at Ugetsu. You must have
understood the significance of this, right, Dogyou? At worst, this act could
lead to the destruction of the Kokuten Province."
*Snap*. Kaede who had
been watching the surroundings in place of Sonomi, who was stepping on Kanou,
flinched with indignation.
―Which mouth says that!?
Her eyes spoke volumes
about her feelings over her mouth.
However, Sonomi, who
should be more agitated than anyone else, showed her index finger on her lips
towards Kaede.
In response to
Sonomi's request for silence, Kaede only returned a nod of head after a short
hesitation.
"―I do understand
that. That's why I chose Kanou-dono as my target."
"Wha?"
"If this were to
become known to the public, the Ugetsu family would certainly have to retaliate
against the Dogoyu family. Yeah, as you said, this could lead to the
destruction of the Kokuten Province. ―Then, what will happen to you,
Kanou-dono?"
"..........................."
The question, which
sounded like a taunt, forced Kanou to be silent.
If one were to look at
the current situation alone, it would mean that Kanou had fought against two
girls with five men and was beaten to a pulp.
No secondary
information would be taken into account, such as that the girls ambushed them,
or that they belonged to Dogyou family.
All that remained
would be the pure fact that five grown men were defeated by two young girls.
A pitiful end to a
pitiful battle.
There would still be
salvation if there was an opportunity to clear their names by retaliating
against Dogyou family.
However, they will
definitely be treated as pawns to be discarded in exchange for their
reputations, and they will be crushed.
This must be avoided.
At the very least,
Kanou himself must maintain his silence, no matter how pathetic it may be.
"I am glad to see
that you understand your situation so well. You can rest assured. We have no
intention of spreading the word about what happened here. If you keeps your
mouth shut, no rumours will not spread."
"............At
what guarantee?"
"There are no
guarantees, do you think you have the right to ask for it after you've
lost?"
Kanou's gaze wandered.
Between refusal and
agreement, he calculated the benefits for himself in a calculative manner.
Sonomi and Kaede
watched this with a cold gaze.
There was no other
choice for him. So they knew the outcome without having to ask.
Eventually, after a
moment of silence, Kanou reluctantly opened his mouth.
"........................
What do you want?"
"Oh! Thank you
for your quick and wise decision. Now, if you don't mind me asking you a few
questions. If you answer honestly, it won't take much time."
In a cheerful tone of
voice, Sonomi praised Kanou's decision.
...It was probably
fortunate for him that he could not see the girls' expressions.
Contrary to their
cheerful voices, which were typical of girls of their age, the two girls were
looking down at Kanou with inhumanly cruel gazes.
Those were the eyes of
women who were calculating how to squeeze information out of Kanou's memory.
"First, what was the
reason for today's banquet?"
"......
What?"
What on earth are they
going to ask me? Kanou, who was inwardly horrified, was unintentionally taken
aback by the sheer nonsense of it all.
"Why are you
asking me such a question? You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"
"...... It's just
a casual conversation. It's an opening for you to be honest with us."
Swiftly, the two
exchanged glances.
Does the reason for
holding the banquet have anything to do with Akira?
While they were
hesitating whether to divert the conversation or to proceed, Kanou told them
the most ridiculous content.
"It's a
celebration of the official recognition of Souma-sama's inauguration as a
legitimate heir and his betrothal to Gioin-sama. It has been Ugetsu's long-held
regret, so now the whole family is in the middle of a celebration."
"!!??"
The two almost gasped
at the outrageous information that came out of Kanou's mouth.
However, they quickly
suppressed it and focused on extracting further information from Kanou.
"...... I thought
that Souma-sama was the eldest son of the Ugetsu family, but was I wrong?"
"The decision had
been made both externally and internally. However, Gioin-sama did not approve
of it. Before in front of Souma-sama, there was a pseudo-Kegare named
Akira."
Kanou's tone of voice,
as he spoke with a sense of disgust, was laced with a tone of pride.
For him, being the
very first to take part in the elimination of Akira was undeniably an
achievement, regardless of the actual situation.
"Pseudo-Kegare?"
Sonomi's question
regarding this was understandable.
From the time of his
birth, Akira was given the blessing of Genrei, the great divine pillar of
Kokuten Province.
This is synonymous
with the fact that Akira has absolute protection for everything he does in
Kokuten Province.
To put it in simple
terms, as long as he keeps his feet within Kokuten Province, it is extremely
difficult for any kind of Kegare to harm him.
"Hmph. That thing
had no spirit inside it."
".....................
So?"
They looked at each
other with question marks on their faces.
No spirit resided
within him.
This is something that
they already knew.
It is precisely
because there is no spirit residing inside him that he is able to be
Kanna-no-Mikura.
On the contrary, this
fact is something to be proud of and nothing to be ashamed of.
"You don't seem
to understand, huh? The fact that there is no spirit dwelling in it means that
it can't use any spiritual power. That thing is the worst defect in the history
of Ugetsu. The family head's distress was just too great!"
""!!??""
"I had a hard
time getting rid of that thing. After all, I had to teach the incompetent, who
couldn't use spiritual power, swordsmanship together with the competent
clansmen. I was so worried that its incompetent might infect the others. If
only Fuwa-dono had not volunteered to teach him, I would not hesitate to treat
him as a training target for spirit techniques."
Finally, they began to
get a vague picture of what was happening.
The apparent
deficiency of the oral tradition in Ugetsu. As they imagined the tragedy that
this would cause, they lost all colour in their expressions.
"......What about
spirit techniques? Haven't you taught him?"
"That thing has
no spiritual powers. Why would I waste my time on something like that?"
"........................"
After asking all that
questions, Kaede finally looked up at the night sky, as if escaping from
reality.
―To begin with, the premise was wrong. It was not the
spirit, but the divine pillar that accepted Akira. As long as Genrei's divine
spirit filled Akira, Akira could exercise Genrei's spiritual power to a greater
than full potential.
But how could it be
that Akira did not lose his sanity and let his divine power run wild?
It was likely that
Akira had disciplined himself to a great extent.
"W-Where is Akira-san
right now?"
There was a slight
tremor at the end of Sonomi's question.
Because it had come to
this point. Without a doubt, Akira's opinion of Ugetsu could be said to have
hit rock bottom.
No. If they could get
Akira back just by using Ugetsu as a sacrifice, then it would be a small price
to pay.
Not only from
childhood, but from the time he was born, he has lived a life of repression and
depression.
At worst, it would not
be surprising if his personality was twisted.
However, no matter how
much Genrei may admonish Akira, the option of confrontation would not be
tolerated by her.
The reason was that
Genrei would tolerate any and all actions committed by Kanna-no-Mikura.
At this point, they
have no choice but to welcome Akira to Gioin's main residence and hope that
Akira's anger will be limited to Ugetsu alone.
"He's already
dead."
"Ha?"
The response, which
was given by the seemingly happy Ugetsu's vassal, who did not even understand
what exactly was happening, was so brief that it completely stopped Sonomi's
train of thought.
"About three
weeks ago, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs reported that his soul stone
had lost its radiance, and the Ugetsu family was so overjoyed by the news of
his death.
The Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs recognized Souma-sama as a legitimate heir in about 10
days, which they had been so reluctant to do before. ―Good grief, we should
have got rid of that thing years ago."
"―Where did he
die?"
"I don't know. That
thing was banished three years ago. It must have died somewhere."
―Slash.
Right after he said
that, the blade of the tachi was slammed into Kanou's neck with so much force
that he had no time to let out a breath, and his consciousness sank completely
into darkness once more.
The only ones standing
behind him were Sonomi, who was breathing heavily, and Kaede, who was seemingly
maintaining her composure.
"―Sorry, I
couldn't endure it."
"It is enough
since you didn't kill him. ...... Even I was unsure if I would be able to hold
myself back."
Kaede's voice was
filled with a deep sense of rage as she responded.
No wonder. The more
facts she probed, the worse the situation became.
In the end, when
Akira's death was mentioned with great enthusiasm, Sonomi's patience reached
its limit.
"......What are
we going to do now?"
"For now, as per
our initial plan, we will escape from Samidare territory as soon as possible.
Once we reach the neighboring territory, we won't have to worry about being
pursued, and we should be able to send a telegram to the Princess. ―When was
Ugetsu Tenzan going to ascend the mountain?"
Having already lost
all respect for Tenzan, Sonomi made an immediate decision to throw any
honorifics when mentioned his name.
Without giving a
second thought to Kanou and the others, who were lying on the ground, Kaede
returned an affirmative nod of agreement.
"...... I believe
it was scheduled for the second week of August. Shall we send a telegram to
inform them of Akira-sama's death?"
"............
Won't it cause a stir?"
"Undoubtedly.
Even if we carry out the purification rituals to prevent Kuro-sama from turning
into an Aragami, we won't be able to stop the miasma pools from forming."
"...... Let's
leave it to the Princess to make the decision. We can't afford to enrage
Kuro-sama just because of a single testimony. ―Though it will still be
necessary to report to the Princess."
Despite understanding
that this was a bad move, Sonomi hesitated to make a detailed report.
The fury of the great
divine pillar that presides over the province will directly lead to the
disaster of the province.
It would be fine if
the damage were limited to the Samidare Territory, but there is no way that the
divine pillar would take trivial matters of the territorial boundaries that
people have drawn into consideration.
What will happen as a
result?
―It is certain that Kokuten Province will be
devastated.
It was impossible for
the two of them to guess what kind of tragedy would ensue beyond that, as they
only knew the fury of the divine pillars through folklore.
"...... Now then.
What shall we do with them?"
Kaede curled her lips
at the hassle that followed, pointing at the men who were lying on the ground.
She had wrapped a
cloth around the blade of her spirit vessel, so even though the power was sufficiently
powerful, it wasn't enough to kill them.
After the ambush was
over, all that was left were five unconscious adult men.
No matter how they
were going to put it, taking care of five incompetent animals would only be a
hassle.
"Let's leave them
be."
Naturally, there was
not a shred of hesitation in Sonomi's tone.
"It's summer, so
they won't die if we leave them overnight. They might catch a cold, but that's
nothing to worry about. ―-Let's do what we have to do. These guys are going to
be disposed of in the near future anyway."
"...... Right.
They're just bastards with no future, so it's more convenient for them to sleep
here."
They have caused all
this trouble, and once Gioin hears the details about what happened, Gioin will
personally pass judgment on them.
They probably didn't
have any more information other than this, so there was no reason for Kaede and
Sonomi to waste any more of their time on them.
Kaede abandoned Kanou
and the others quite casually and turned her body around.
After her, Sonomi also
disappeared into the depths of the darkness.
All that remained were
five unconscious men and the chirping of summer insects.
They kept chirping,
seemingly unaware of any traces of the battle that had taken place there.
――――――――――――――――
TIPS: About Akira's
divine protection.
The divine pillar's
blessings can be generally divided into three categories: absolute safety in
the province where the blessing is received, unconditional use of divine power
possessed by the divine pillar, and the combined power of the spirits present
in the province.
However, these are
essentially the domain of miracles, and the minimum requirement for their
activation is Akira's own will.
Furthermore, as they
are restricted only to those who stay on the province, they will not be
triggered if they leave the province where they have received the blessings.
Incidentally, the
reason Akira was able to write talismans in Shumon Province was because Genrei
had already filled him with divine power before that.
If he just wanted to
write talismans, he wouldn't need to consume that much divine power.
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