Volume 2
Chapter 4 Part
6
Days Go By,
Conspiring to Sleep 6
Translator : PolterGlast
The priest left after
bowing and showed no signs of unwillingness. As soon as his back disappeared
behind the door, Benedetta turned to Ambrosio.
[Sir Ambrosio. Are you
sure you can handle a promise like that!?
Our country is in the
middle of a crisis right now!]
Although he had made
an optimistic promise, Ambrosio should not have had that much authority.
Benedetta could not
accept a promise that could cause problems later.
[No problem.
I am aware of the[Holy
Church of Guidance]'s power. If this uprising were to be overpowered by force,
then we would have no choice but to clean them up so that they would not cause
any problems in the future.
Whether they survive
or not, there are only one or two monkeys from the Far East that have a good
prospect.
Then it would be well
within my power to do whatever I want, and besides, there is a possibility of
an accident before they reach Vansuir in the first place.]
[You encouraged the
uprising without even promising any support to the [Holy Church of Guidance]!?]
Although they were
officially excommunicated, the [Holy Church of Guidance] is still a branch of
the [Holy Church of Ariadne].
Benedetta's common
sense screamed when she learned that a branch that had been spreading
missionary work in a foreign land for many years was to be used as a decoy for
a single operation.
[Then, would you
accept them at your own peril?
Even setting aside the
current situation in our country, you know that the [Holy Church of Ariadne]
does not have the capacity to accept any more splinter branches.]
[That's
............!!]
Benedetta bit her lip
and looked down, having lost the point of her rage upon hearing Ambrosio's
rebuttal.
The [Holy Church of
Ariadne] is a religion that has conquered the Western Tomoe Continent over the
years.
A religion that has
other gods as vassal deities basically cannot accept even a single defeat.
Because defeat would
mean acknowledging enemy deities, which would contradict the very definition of
the one and only God.
Although continued
victory is an absolute necessity, the [Sacred Religion of Ariadne] has had
several defeats in the past.
The reason why they
were able to avoid contradictions in their beliefs is because they were able to
successfully utilize their splinter branches.
By distorting
doctrinal interpretations little by little and creating fractions, it was
possible to avoid a decisive collapse in the event of a defeat by pinning the
failure on the branches.
―As a result of the numerous invasions over the years,
there are now so many branches that even their country cannot grasp, and the
reality is that even the doctrine itself is becoming ambiguous.
[I am glad that you
understand.
Well, they can also
become the cornerstone of the true [Sacred Church of Ariadne]. Even in death,
it would be a great honor for them, wouldn't it?]
*Chuckle*. With a
chuckle escaping from the depths of his throat, Ambrosio went back to the
center table.
There is no going back
now. Benedetta followed suit, determined.
[...... So, is it
Kamotsu's Wind Cave that you're aiming for?
[No. The missionary
thought that was an important place, but that wind cave is, after all, a wind
cave that emerged from a tributary.
As long as it is not
directly connected to the mainstream, there is no profit to connect it to our
country.
Kuga was it? We've
stirred up that lord enough, and it's enough for him to act as a decoy to
reduce the forces to a certain extent.]
[That was a tributary?
Then, the mainstream is .......]
[As I explained,
Baratush already made a direct connection.
In other words, the
origin of the wind cave that connects to the continent is controlled by the
temple of Nirvana religion.
―This is the place, the Gennaji Temple. This is the
target we must conquer.]
After wandering around
on the map, Ambrosio's fingers pointed to the west side of Kamotsu.
Geographically
unfamiliar, their eyes barely noticed it.
It would have been a
different story if the priest had been there.
―Ambrosio's point was, coincidentally, very close to
the abandoned village where Padre had planned for an uprising.
[I get it, our
objective is to conquer it.
......But if we can't
carry on after that, we will end up falling into the same hole.
With our current
situation where we lack supporters, it would be impossible for us to maintain
the wind cave.]
[No need to maintain
it.
The Nirvana religion
already drilled a stake into the dragon vein and directly connected it to
Baratush.
They said that the
direction in which it flows has not changed because only a few paths have been
changed, however, it was originally the mainstream directly connected to
Tsonma.
Therefore, it can be
said that what we are going to do is simply restore the flow of the dragon
veins to normal, which is not against God's will.
―If anything, they should show their gratitude by
prostrating themselves on the ground.]
Ambrosio's fingertip
pointed to a point in the Qingdao Harbor.
Benedetta finally
remembered that Ambrosio had often visited the church that was built in that
harbor.
I see. Was he tracing
back the dragon vein and preparing to overthrow the divine pillar of this land?
[All the preparations
have been completed.
As soon as the dragon
vein is connected, the dragon den of this place will fall under the divine seal
released by Tsonma.
I have no intention of
letting this mission, which has taken me half my life, end without being
accomplished.]
Ambrosio's mouth
contorted into a fearless smile.
The absolute certainty
of victory that was evident in Ambrosio's expression was unsettling, but
Benedetta and the others did not voice any further objections and responded
with affirmation, indicating their determination to take action.
――――――――――――――――
"Phew......"
Having finished taking
a bath, Saki leaned her body against the window, and the light night breeze
that drifted in through the gaps in the slightly opened shoji gently quenched
the lingering heat on her body.
Peering out through
the gap in the shoji, she saw a few street lamps daintily illuminating the
deserted street.
Despite recently
moving to a high-class inn, she convinced herself that she could at least
appreciate the luxurious hot spring baths.
"Good
grief......, Kuga-kun is such a pain."
The grumbling soliloquy
was directed at Ryota, who had appeared briefly during the day with something
to do.
This is because, for
some time now, Ryota has been sticking by Saki's side.
Even if she avoided
Ryota's advances, she could not get rid of Nonoka's figure, and this only
increased Saki's anxiety.
Moreover, during the
first few days in Kamotsu, she had only managed to contact Akira once a day
under the guise of escorting him to the lodging.
Given this situation,
it would be difficult to say that she was fulfilling the role of mentor that
Tsuguho had asked her to handle directly.
Saki's patience was
running out as she was still unable to gather any information on the abandoned
village west of Kamotsu.
She herself was
unaware of the increasing number of soliloquies she was making as a response to
the pressure.
"―and an emissary
from Vansuir. Benedetta Casalini, was it?
What is that woman's
motive for contacting me?"
Saki considered
herself to be quite capable, but she was still just a young girl who had just
turned 12 years old.
Although she was proud
of possessing a certain amount of power of speech, she was not that influential
given the fact that she did not hold any position of authority.
Saki thought that
Benedetta might be making some assumptions about her position based on her
appearance, but even so, she still couldn't understand why she wanted to make
contact with her.
"Did she find out
about Akira-kun?
......No, there is no
way. Tsuguho-sama said that as long as they keep quiet about it, Kanna-no-Mikura
is not all that different from ordinary people.
I wonder what Vansuirl
is thinking about during this busy time."
She held her head in
agony and tried to get out of the whirlpool of thoughts.
To be honest, with all
the troublesome things being thrown at her from above, from the side, and even
from the opposite direction, Saki's emotions boiled over and she was on the
verge of exploding.
Although she could
ignore Vansuir's request if worse comes to worst, she cannot abandon the
meeting without knowing what the other party is planning to do.
After all, it would be
a bad move considering how carefully they had planned the contact.
"......Yeah, I
can't simply abandon it.
At least I should
uncover the other party's intention."
Saki concluded so after
some time and decided on tomorrow's action with a satisfied expression.
*Bz bz*....... The
room was illuminated by a faintly flickering orange lightbulb.
After putting on the Juban as a replacement for a nightgown,
Saki spread out today's harvest on the provided table.
There were two kinds
of talismans: Akira's recovery talisman, which she had received from Asogi
Genji, and the regeneration talisman that Akira sold to Minematsu today.
Saki, who was not well
versed in this field, was not able to discern the spiritual power contained in
the talismans.
However, as long as
she held it in her hand, she could at least compare them.
"I don't know
much about mantras, but the handwriting style and the symbols are very similar,
......That's how I see
it. Well, I guess it's safe to say that he's not involved in any crimes."
The most likely
destination where Akira supplied the talismans is the Talisman Association.
If that's the case,
then it's a legitimate side job as long as he's not distributing them to crime
syndicates.
...... Instead, she
discovered some ugly information about the illegal trade involving regeneration
talismans carried out by the Talisman Association.
As a former Onmyou
Bureau, the Talisman Association is an organization under the jurisdiction of
the central government.
The source of the
talismans has nothing to do with how they are used, so unless the talismans are
stamped with an inscription, the name of the person who created them will never
be revealed.
It is also possible
that the person who made the talismans is not even aware of the illegal trade.
However, if the facts
were as Saki had predicted, it would be easy to deal with the situation as
Tsuguho wished.
With the reassurance
she had finally obtained, Saki's shoulders relaxed.
The strategy set up by
Tsuguho and Saki was to create the impression that Akira's financial situation
was in jeopardy.
They intentionally
reduced Akira's opportunities for income and increased his opportunities for
expenses.
In this way, Akira
would inevitably be made to rely on the extra income.
It was a risky gamble,
but it seemed to have succeeded without Akira being aware of it.
There was a
possibility that he might ask for money from Kihouin or Saki, but they knew
that this was the least likely possibility.
Akira basically does
not trust others.
From what she has
heard, Akira does not have such a strong distrust of Tsuguho, and he was very
straightforward in his conversation with the owner of the tenement, who was
called "Granny", so it is certain that it is not based on his own
nature.
However, watching from
the side, she could see it clearly.
It was also true that
Saki felt there was a thin barrier between her and him, who was in a
mentor-disciple relationship.
This barrier is also
what made her hesitate to make contact with Akira.
"What was the
trigger?
Gender, time,
......no, I don't think so.
Is it because he
doesn't know me well enough?
No, no, we've been
together during daytime training for a while now. It's pretty hurtful that he
still doesn't trust me even after spending such a long time together."
She groaned and held
her head in agony. Saki, who was still inexperienced in life, had no way of
reading Akira's thoughts.
It was true that Akira
and Saki had not yet established a relationship of complete trust.
Saki is a genuine
member of the Eight Families through and through. As a mentor, Saki was showing
too much of herself as a member of the Eight Families.
Saki is a member of
the eight families, unmistakably a member of the nobility, and she has been
trained to think in terms of interests rather than trust.
Akira, on the other
hand, only looked at Saki as an example of a member of the nobility, not as an
individual.
―In other words, Akira is treating Saki in a similar
way to the way he treats his teachers.
This difference is the
true nature of the barrier that exists between them.
Selfless goodwill.
For Saki, who believes
that trust can only be built on mutual interest, this is literally an unknown
thought.
"Okay, I've made up
my mind.
Tomorrow......."
She nodded several
times in self-conclusion and carefully put away the talismans.
The drowsiness that
overtook her also made her aware of the sluggishness of her thoughts.
―The light bulb's flickering light went out, and eventually,
only the gentle breathing of sleep dissolved into the noise of the night breeze
and vanished.
――――――――――――――――
......Even for those
who live in Kamotsu, where the lights that illuminate the night last longer,
bedtime is surprisingly no different from the other towns.
At 10:00 p.m., it is
rare for anyone to be awake, let alone at 2:00 a.m., when even the grass and
trees are asleep.
The only people who
are awake at this hour are probably night owls or apprentices who can't face
the sun.
While everyone is
asleep and only the lights of the street lamps illuminate the streets,
―*Step, step*.
Sounds of footsteps
echoed in the street, perhaps avoiding the lights, or perhaps blending in with
the darkness.
*Swirl, swish*. The
darkness, which no lights could reach, undulated like a creature, clinging to
the owner of the footsteps.
―*Step, step*,...... *step, step*.
"Good grief.
......That sure took a
lot of time and effort."
The darkness ranted in
a rather regretful tone of voice.
The fact is, the time
and effort that the person behind the darkness has put into this is too much
for anyone to imagine.
"But, oh well.
―It's high time."
―*Step, step*.
The lights of the
street lamps were swallowed by the darkness, and then reemerged.
The noise of the
summer insects that buzz and chirp in the darkness also faded away, only to be
reemerged again.
There was no change,
just repetition.
Only the undulating
darkness was an anomaly that did not stop moving toward the outside of Kamotsu.
"...... I had high
hopes, but at the end of the day, that's the extent of it.
I don't want to be one
of those who lose sight of the tide."
―Hii, hii.
A disturbingly gentle
sneer rippled through the swirling darkness.
Amidst all this, the
darkness cracked open and a reddish-black crescent moon was glimpsed.
―Hii, hii, hii~.
The crescent moon was
distorted into a sneer, caressing the spirit of those who listened to it.
Its pace never halted,
disappearing from darkness to darkness and out of Kamotsu.
*Swirl, swish*. All
that remained was silence, nothing but a town full of people who fell into a
peaceful sleep, seemingly unaware of anything.
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