Volume 4
Chapter 2 Part
2
Days Continue,
Like a Buried Fire 2
Translator : PolterGlast
The day after the
Hyakki Yagyo ended.
Akira hastened to
Tenryō Academy along the main road where the traces of devastation were etched
everywhere.
As he sprinted along,
angry shouts flew in the air.
"There it is.
It's still breathing."
"Be careful!
—Bring some oil! Let's roast him with divine pillar's fire!"
Under a beam peeking
out from the gap in a smoldering house, a dying dog gasped, exhaling miasma.
Perhaps struck by the
swirling miasma, the fire ignited instantly.
—Ku, ru, uoo~!
In a final struggle,
its body, covered with the stench of decay, moved violently.
The beam screamed
loudly under its strength.
"Whoa!"
"—Get out of the
way! I'll pour the oil!"
Pushing aside the
confused crowd, a man with his mouth covered threw a pot of oil.
With the sound of
pottery breaking. —Suddenly, flames licked the surroundings.
The Fire Element,
corresponding to the extreme of Yang among the Five Elements, governs
destruction and purification.
The flames, which burn
everything away simply by existing, are a method of purification and
annihilation that even inexperienced citizens of the Central Capital can
perform.
To be honest, they
would have preferred to purify it with purifying water, but they couldn't
afford to consume the limited purifying water on a low-ranking defiled beast.
—Ku, ru, ruu~.
As if its throat had
been scorched by the flames, its dying cry echoed muffled.
And then, perhaps the
wailing had finally ended, the corpse sank into a pale blue flame in front of
the men's glaring eyes.
Whew... A collective
sigh of relief swept through the crowd. No one dared to make fun of the
situation. For the people of Central Capital, who had always been safe behind
the Five Elemental Barrier, even a low-ranking defiled beast was a sight they
had never seen before. Even purifying a single, dying dog was a big deal for
them.
"It's so hot. Can
I take off this mask now?"
"Stop it, you
fool. Didn't you hear what happened to the guy in the neighboring town who
inhaled the miasma?"
"...His insides
rotted while he was still alive. Yikes..."
Unable to withstand
the swirling heat wave, one of the men put his finger on the cloth covering his
mouth.
He was immediately
cautioned and reluctantly let go of his finger.
—What was most unexpected for Akira and the others was
the lack of crisis awareness about the miasma.
Perhaps due to the
long habit of being protected by the barrier, they had no preparations for the
miasma at all.
The lack of purifying
water and recovery talismans, which were supposed to be mandatory, was a
situation that Akira had never imagined, and the citizens were thrown into
confusion without knowing what to do.
—Nevertheless.
Having concluded that
at least they had secured safety, Akira turned on his heel.
"―Have you heard
about the nobility?"
"Yeah. They've
been fattening their purses with their family fortunes and fled to the
Santen-ryō.
I wonder what they're
thinking, causing so much trouble for the Imperial Families."
"I heard that
Lady Kaoruko of Fujinomorimiya took command of the Imperial Guard because there
was no one else.
...Ha! For what, I
wonder, do they act so high and mighty all this time?"
"The garrison is
no different. I heard that they were removed from the front lines because they
were useless in the face of Hyakki Yagyo."
"I know the
Imperial Families are kind, but... we're really struggling here, paying all
those taxes for something useless."
Akira heard these
muttered complaints and left the place, making a conscious effort not to let
his emotions waver.
It was still good that
they were venting their frustrations. The fact that they had an outlet meant
that they still had some energy left to do their work.
Sighing, he looked up
at the high autumn sky.
The heavy heat wave
from the burning diesel oil fluttered the haori he usually didn't wear.
He stepped onto the
side of the road, which was now nothing but rubble.
With each step on the
road surface mixed with glass and rubble, black spiritual energy scattered into
the air.
Apparently, his
concentration had slipped, and his concealment came undone.
The water spirit,
leaving a trace of concern, released the boy's presence. Yet, everyday life was
so busy that the surrounding people paid no attention to the slight change.
—With that as his only salvation, Akira was eventually
swallowed up in the swirl of the passing crowd.
♢
―Tenryō Academy, Left Wing Building.
Kuga Ryōta sat in his
seat by the window in the classroom, which was bustling with the morning's
activity. The wrinkles between his eyebrows were a usual sight, and he didn't
seem to mind as the chair in front of him was pulled out with a noise.
Komine Toyohiko, one
of his few classmates, gave him the same friendly smile as always.
"Yo."
"Yeah."
A casual greeting,
simply showing his right hand as a gesture towards a friend who had survived
the war. Not caring about social standing, the friendship he had gained at the
academy was precious to Ryōta.
"You survived,
huh?"
"Same to you.
—I'm glad to see you're not injured either."
Snorting at the light
exchange, he leaned back against the backrest. As he scanned the classroom, he
noticed scattered empty spaces that were different from usual. No one around
him seemed to want to intrude on those spaces.
"...How
many?"
"About five. They
were unlucky enough to be tripped up by the Armored Centipedes' assault."
Just yesterday,
someone had been sitting in those places. He still hadn't gotten used to that
fact. It didn't take long for Ryōta to become aware of this.
Although they are
guardian candidates, everyone here is a child of a feudal noble family. Thanks
to the blessings of the local deities and the combat skills honed over many
years, the shortage of guardians has been a distant memory in recent years.
"...To be outdone
by such a creature is pretty pathetic."
"This is the
Central Capital, you know? Don't say that.
—Their hometown is far away. Given the limited protection,
I think they did well."
"Hmph."
Beneath the curse
words he uttered was a deep sorrow. Toyohiko, who had barely noticed Ryōta
looking away, tried to comfort him.
"They initiated
the battle with the guardians as the front line, then built a siege line with
the protectors in the second phase.
In the third phase,
they deployed the recovered guardians and stopped them with a decisive battle.
The tactical command
of the head of the Rindō family was quite effective against the swarm of
Armored Centipedes."
"He is not as
dumb as he looks, huh."
"Even if he's in
his decline, he's still the head of one of the Eight Families. —If Lady Saki
heard you say that, you'd be in big trouble."
"We've lost many
valuable guardians. Well, they probably expected this many casualties
anyway."
Despite the gentle
reprimand, Ryōta's sharp tongue did not stop. Toyohiko, who didn't seem to have
any intention of stopping him, leaned back into his chair as well.
"So, where were
you, young master of the Kuga family, in the midst of all that?"
"I was on my way
to Mt. Shōrō (the Cornerstone Mountain of the Earth Element) as planned, and
then got caught up in the Hyakki Yagyo. —I cleared the surrounding area and
moved to Mt. Mitsuzu Torii (the Cornerstone Mountain of the Metal Element), and
finally joined the battlefield of Kayanowa (Water Element) on foot."
What Ryōta said was
only the facts that were to be made public.
All he could give to
his friend was a vague answer that avoided anything that might be confidential
or related to oral tradition.
"You've been to
many battlefields, huh? Even for someone from the Eight Families, your
spiritual power won't last forever, right?"
"I actually only
swung my sword at the beginning and at Kayanowa.
If anything, Yuge
Kōjō-dono and Captain Asōgi bore a greater burden."
"...He~e."
That casual reply was
unexpected for Toyohiko, who knew Ryōta well.
After all, Ryōta Kuga
clearly distinguished people between enemies and allies.
He is kind to those
whom he allows into his heart, but his attitude before that was too thorny and
poisonous.
His extreme attitude
could be seen in his previous obsession with Saki Rindou.
—But what happened after one summer?
He was the same as
usual. But his previous attitude had greatly subsided.
Only a few people had
noticed Ryōta's growth.
But the prestige he is
gaining has certainly made him more reliable and dependable.
With that, he could
expect more next year, even though he had been content to be in the second
place of the school year.
Toyohiko twisted the
corner of his mouth as he reached that conclusion.
—There are too many new issues arising for that to
happen. And one prime example of those issues...
Outside the window,
waves of students arriving from the academy's main gate swayed.
The undulating wave
was more of a bewilderment before the foreign object was brought into view.
Eventually, a boy
wearing a haori stepped out as if the flow of people was avoiding him. The
plain haori, indicating that he was a protector, was rather unusual in Tenryō
Academy, where only guardian candidates were present.
—I know who that is. His name is... yes, Yosturugi
Akira.
A boy from the Kihōin
family, whose reputation had soared since subduing the Hyakki Yagyo at the
beginning of July. A commoner hero who had accumulated enough merit to even be
granted a surname and become a noble.
Even when Toyohiko
heard that Akira had been temporarily transferred to Tenryō Academy, he had
only felt sympathy for being caught up in the whims of the Kihōin family. He
thought that Akira would soon be buried and forgotten in the daily life of the
upper nobility.
—Without a moment's pause for that sympathy, Akira had
begun to show a quiet prominence.
Because he had been so
quiet until now, Toyohiko hadn't paid much attention to him.
"...Kuga-dono."
"What is
it?"
"What are you
planning to do with him?"
Following his friend's
pointing finger, Ryōta understood the meaning of his words and curved his lips.
A gust of wind carried
a biting chill, making one's skin bristle. Akira's haori fluttered, revealing a
tattered uniform beneath it.
The lacerations told
of the recent fierce battle. Even in silence, it was overwhelmingly persuasive,
emphasizing the boy's history of warfare.
Everyone knew there
was a system where commoners could be promoted to protectors. Although it was
called "recognition," it had become a mere formality in modern times,
even though it had been established several times in the past.
That was because even
if someone became a protector, they couldn't surpass the history that the
nobility has made over generations. As an individual, they were simply too
powerless.
But Akira was
different.
Even after taking into
account both his literary and military skills, Akira was so different that one
couldn't find any flaws.
A commoner who was
only recognized as a protector had achieved feats greater than others.
Ironically, the
children of the nobility who belonged to Shumon Province, just like Akira,
couldn't remain calm in the face of this reality.
"...Leave him
alone."
"Kuga, I'm glad
to see your growth. It means that you have the qualities to lead us.
—But this is definitely strange."
Ryōta quickly
dismissed Toyohiko's concerns.
Their master, the
Kihōin family, had accepted Akira.
It would be
disrespectful to question a decision made by one's superiors. Understanding
that it might be unreasonable, Toyohiko stopped talking.
Vested interests were
synonymous with the history of the nobility. It was a custom, a crystallization
of blood ties that have been intricately and diversely intertwined.
This was especially
true of the Central Capital nobility, but to a greater or lesser extent, all
nobles had this aspect.
Akira, as an anomaly,
would become a clear crack in the foundation of the vested interests built up
by the nobility. Toyohiko's fear was taking shape with a sense of reality.
"Toyohiko, I
understand what you want to say. ...As well as your concerns.
But if we don't reward
his merits, it will distort our own existence even more than as nobles."
Their eyes met across
the space between them.
A moment of silence.
—Then Toyohiko raised both hands in surrender.
"...Alright.
Well, today's harvest is that I found out Kuga-dono knows something about that
commoner."
"Don't tell
anyone. You never know what kind of trouble you might get into."
"I'll keep that
in mind, thanks for the reminder."
"Sorry. But as
long as we don't interfere, Akira won't turn his fangs on us.
He has that much
reason, besides, he still owes me a favor."
"I see. In that
case, let me give you some advice as well.
Those guys who avoided
the commoners earlier were mostly from Hakudō Province and Kabeju Province.
I don't know what they
know, but be prepared for their investigation."
"Kabeju
Province?"
Ryōta sharply turned
his gaze to Toyohiko's casual advice.
It wasn't so strange
that Hakudō Province might be interested since they had seen Akira unleash his
secret techniques.
But the information
about Kabeju Province was new to him.
"I thought they
had nothing to do with him."
"Well, there are
a lot of things we don't understand.
—Especially that one."
Ryota turned his gaze
again towards the direction indicated by the finger.
This time, it was
farther away, to the entrance of the right-wing building.
This time, Ryōta
squinted his eyes sharply.
The Kihōin family,
Shumon Province's main family, and the Giōin family, Kokuten Province's main
family. The two powerhouses were silently confronting each other.
The tense atmosphere
between the two was something that had not existed before the previous
semester.
The silence that
lasted only a few dozen seconds, which almost seemed like a battle, ended as
both of them looked away simultaneously.
The tension that could
be felt even from the window of the left-wing building melted away like thin
snow in that instant. Both of them unknowingly let out a sigh.
"I don't know
what happened, but there's been trouble everywhere.
Last night, it
suddenly turned to day. I thought it might be a natural disaster, but no one has
even mentioned it."
"I don't know
what you expect, but even I know only a little. Everyone is on edge before the
Kannamesai Festival. Even my father...
—Toyohiko."
"What is
it?"
"Your family has
a large trading company, right? —Could you use your connections to investigate
Kokuten Province?"
Toyohiko's expression
suddenly became hesitant at Ryōta's gaze.
Under the current
situation where it was unclear what was causing the conflict, this act would
literally require a determination to risk everything.
"I'm not telling
you to contact the Giōin family or anything. You just need to have a casual
conversation with someone over there and tell me what's going on."
"If that's all,
then..."
With a difficult
expression, Toyohiko nodded in agreement.
Behind the two of
them, who were looking out the window, the sound of a sliding door opening
echoed. It was Akira.
Drawing attention to
his tattered uniform, Akira sat down in his seat.
No one tried to talk
to Akira.
With Akira, this
foreign object, among them, the classroom where only the upper nobility
gathered was about to start another day.
-----
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