Volume 4
Chapter 10
Part 1
Still Gazing
Upon the Mist at Dawn 1
Translator : PolterGlast
Creak. The wooden door
leading from the inn's back door opened with a noise.
The innkeeper, who had
stopped preparing food, glanced over the screen.
Snorting at the
acquaintance who was shaking off the snow outside under the flickering light
bulb, he returned his gaze to the chopping board.
Fuwa Naotoshi sat down
beside the kitchen and took off his straw sandals.
"I thought you
were already closed... I'm troubling you."
"Good grief. If
it weren't for you being my old acquaintance, Fuwa-dono, I wouldn't listen to
such a ridiculous request like this.
—Those two are the guardians, I presume?"
A boy and girl
exchanged relieved glances, wet from the remnants of the snow, by the side of the
gate. The unraveling of the haori implicitly suggested the outcome of a fierce
battle.
"I think I'll be
in debt to you even after paying for this.
—What about food?"
"Wait in the
room.
One of the guests is
late getting home, and at this rate, he must have run away penniless."
Naotoshi blinked at
the innkeeper's disgruntled muttering.
Running away in the
middle of a snowy night would be almost suicidal, even for a protector.
"Even if one aims
for the southern highway, one might get lost on foot."
"Who cares? I
wish that old man, who keeps on complaining, had at least paid the bill without
any complaints."
Responding with a
sigh, the innkeeper threw firewood into the stove.
A spark from the
blazing fire scattered and disappeared among the smoke.
Realizing who the
innkeeper was talking about, Naotoshi stopped pursuing the matter.
Akira and Saki
exchanged glances as they thought of the same person.
"Hide the fee for
these two kids in your pocket.
Consider it a night's
hush money, and it's a fair deal."
"Since you want
to keep it a secret, I should at least be compensated for that.
...I don't want any
trouble, though."
"Don't worry,
it's just in case.
You can talk about it
after the kids have left."
"“—Thank you for
your hospitality.”"
"Just keep
quiet."
The boy and girl bowed
softly as they climbed the stile.
Snorting in response,
the innkeeper reached for the pot next to him.
---
In a corner of the
inner room facing the inn's courtyard.
Thanks to the room's
sliding doors, the sound of the wind rattling the door faded away.
"...Naotoshi-sensei.
Was it okay to leave Mikuriya Shishin's body there?"
"The
steam-powered car owned by the Ugetsu family was destroyed, so...at least we
need to report it.
Since he committed an
assassination in another family's territory and was killed in return, there's
nothing to be done about it."
"—Will the
Mikuriya family pursue this matter?"
"Since Tenzan's
wife, Sanae-dono, is from the Mikuriya family, Tenzan-dono will probably decide
to observe the situation.
...Depending on
Akira-kun's intentions, we may have to change our approach."
My intentions? Akira
was asked implicitly, and he lowered his gaze.
It was Tsukinomiya who
had set up an opportunity to exploit the lenient request to simply clean the
mansion.
Tenzan himself wanted
Akira to be invited into the mansion.
All of this was so
Akira could leave the mansion as peacefully as possible. He wanted to bow his
head to his grandmother's grave at the back of the mansion, even if only for a
short time.
With the purpose of
visiting his grandmother's grave achieved, Akira had little left to regret.
Since the Ugetsu's
response was as expected—
"Why did Mikuriya
Shishin try to take back the artifact?"
"Because the
Ugetsu's plans were ruined, right?
...If the Mikuriya
family, and by extension the old families, wanted to be revived, it would be
inconvenient for them if Akira-kun had Futsu-no-Awai."
"Yeah. But it
would not make any sense for Shishin to take the Futsu-no-Awai."
Even though he didn't
know the truth of Kanna-no-Mikura, there was no possibility that Shishin, a
noble of Central Province, would replace the Eight Families of Kokuten
Province.
He had frequently
talked about returning the artifact, but it was nothing more than the authority
that would eventually be lost if Genrei did not acknowledge it.
Creak, creak. Amidst
Akira's question and the ensuing silence, the sound of the corridor creaking
came from behind.
The sliding door
rattled. From beyond it, the innkeeper entered the inner room.
"This is the
limit of what I could prepare in secret."
"—It's
enough."
Bowls of steaming soup
were placed in front of Akira and Saki, who bowed their heads.
—Thick broth with white noodles floating in it.
After exchanging
glances, Akira and Saki plunged their chopsticks into the bowls.
The broth dripped
heavily from the noodles they scooped up.
The flavor of dried
shiitake mushrooms and bonito flakes spread as soon as they took a sip.
The two of them
groaned at the heat they swallowed, and the corners of the boy and girl's mouths
turned up.
"I heard it was
cold noodles, but I didn't expect you to give us hot noodles."
"I'm not so
selfish that I would feed children cold things.
...That said, it was a
good income before I closed the inn."
"The outbreak of
miasma has ended, but customers are still scarce after all."
"Wheat is also
soaring in price in winter. The innkeepers around the station are all
whispering the same thing."
Taking the empty bowls
of Akira and Saki, the innkeeper got up.
Saki turned her gaze
to the receding presence beyond the sliding door.
"The snow is
falling hard, won't the train be delayed?"
"Saki. Heavy
snowfall in the south is unusual, but it's a daily occurrence in the north in
winter.
—This snowfall is like a drizzle compared to
that."
Akira responded gently
to Saki's worried murmur.
Akira himself was also
from Tsuzura. From experience, he knew that the heavy snowfall in the mountains
was yet to come.
"That may be an
exaggeration, but there's no need to worry about the trains stopping operating.
More importantly, the
miasma pool I saw at Renkyo Mountain is a problem."
"Didn't an
onmyōji go to purify it?"
"Renkyo Mountain.
It's a bit unpleasant to stimulate the area near the land god's sanctuary with
purification.
—Well, it's not something you guys need to worry about.
You'll have to get up early tomorrow, so go to sleep now."
Leaving those words
behind, Naotoshi also got up.
Since Akira and Saki
couldn't move around, only Fuwa Naotoshi could go and check on the situation.
More than as a
guardian, he was a decoy to draw the gazes of those searching for Akira and
Saki to him.
For Naotoshi, tonight
was just the beginning.
♢
The candlelight licked
across the rock surface in the darkness.
A rustling sound
echoed as sand was trampled underfoot in the dark.
"...No way.
Something like this shouldn't happen."
A murmur that faded
into the darkness, as if to encourage himself.
Grasping the
flickering candlelight, Ugetsu Tenzan walked deeper into the cave.
At the innermost part
of the cave, Tenzan was greeted by a pile of books and stacks of paper.
It was an archive that
only the head of the Ugetsu family knew about, a legacy left by past heads of
the family.
He pushed aside the
messy stacks of paper and looked through the books.
Tenzan simply pursued
the past, reading the daily affairs recorded in the contents.
When half of the
candle had dwindled, Tenzan's fingertips trembled on the paper.
Approximately 400
years ago. — A passage from a note expressing envy of a Kanna-no-Mikura,
detailing the civil war caused by the Fuwa family.
Tenzan delved deeper
into the archive and eventually found the full text of the Ancient Covenant.
"The contents of
the Ancient Covenant... Sanezaki. Did you deliberately conceal important
matters?"
Tenzan's hand,
trembling with anger, wrinkled the old book.
The knowledge
regarding Kanna-no-Mikura that Sanezaki Yukitsuna had conveyed to him at the
Imperial Match was merely scratching the surface.
Of course. For
Sanezaki Yukitsuna, who was Ravana, that knowledge was unnecessary information
to drag Tenzan and Souma into the Imperial Match.
In particular, the
knowledge that was lacking was the meaning of the existence of Kanna-no-Mikura.
A valuable combat
force born from the Great Law of the Ten Heavenly Stems. A rare user who does
not possess a spirit and can freely command spirits.
—He wanted to rebuke his past self for being satisfied
with such a superficial understanding.
Kanna-no-Mikura. An
empty throne. It's the greatest privilege granted to the Eight Families for the
sake of giving birth to a musuhi. The more he traced the knowledge, the more a
vast despair filled Tenzan's heart.
Musuhi (産霊) – A term in Shinto for the spiritual influences that
produce all the things in the universe and help them develop and complete their
cycle.
The reason why the
divine pillar seeks Kanna-no-Mikura is almost like an instinct to survive.
In addition, from the
words left by the head of the family 400 years ago, he understood that none of
the Eight Families of Kokuten Province had ever given birth to Kanna-no-Mikura.
For Genrei, the Great
Divine Pillar of Kokuten Province, Akira was a long-awaited existence.
Thinking back, it was
easy to understand the favoritism shown to Akira by the Gioin family.
Having finally understood
the Ancient Covenant in despair, Tenzan slowly got up.
The sound of the
candlelight, which had been flickering barely, sank into the melted wax.
Unable to even keep
his footsteps steady, Tenzan came to his senses in the corridor of the mansion.
"—Why. Why didn't
Akira tell me about the honor of being Kanna-no-Mikura?"
A mutter, not even
recognizable as his own, gradually escaped from the corner of his mouth.
In the end, he was
being tossed around by Akira's foolishness.
It should have been
Akira's duty to tell Ugetsu Tenzan about the knowledge of Kanna-no-Mikura.
It was unthinkable
that the Ugetsu family would be held responsible for neglecting to do so.
Despite trying to
escape responsibility, Tenzan made up his mind to move.
"We've had a lot
of misunderstandings up until now... but now that I have recovered the lost
knowledge,"
"—My Lord."
Tenzan's heel, which
was about to turn to ask for the mediation of the Gioin family, stopped at the
voice thrown at his back.
He turned around to
see the shadow of a vassal standing behind him.
"...Kanou. What
is it?"
"My Lord, how do
you intend to handle the matter of this incident?"
Ignoring Tenzan's
questioning, a rebuking voice returned to Tenzan.
Although it would
normally be considered rude, Tenzan also replied without any hesitation.
"I need to
quickly find someone to mediate, including determining who is responsible. I
will need to reconcile with Akira."
"No, it has
already been decided that Souma-sama will be the next head of the Ugetsu
family. If we overturn that decision now, there will inevitably be confusion in
the Ugetsu family.
—Please reconsider."
"There will
certainly be some temporary confusion. But in order to avoid the fall of the
Ugetsu family from the Eight Families, it is necessary to come to a compromise
with Akira."
"It's just that
you were simply curious. Please don't let momentary hesitation distract you
from your true path."
"Enough."
Tenzan, who had
refused to say anything, was met with a reserved voice from Kanou, whose
expression was downcast.
—In the dark corridor, Tenzan suddenly became concerned
about the fact that no one else was there besides Kanou.
Suppressing the doubts
that were overwhelming his thoughts, he spoke with a sigh.
"Considering the
current situation, accepting Akira is the right thing to do.
—Kanou, by what authority do you dare to argue against
the decision I have made?"
"It was just a
word of advice. That pseudo-kegare spat on the kindness of the Ugetsu family. I
am worried that you may change your mind, by letting someone who should have
been disposed of, return alive, my lord."
"I'm not changing
my mind. It was simply a necessary decision to preserve the Ugetsu family, and
Souma will accept it when he knows the decision."
"...Yes."
Having his words
firmly rejected, the old man in front of him sighed regretfully.
Tenzan was prepared to
be seen as changing his mind. After leaving words of comfort for Kanou, he
turned his back once more.
"Don't worry.
Akira grew up in this land too. If the Ugetsu family changes its
decision—"
—Stab.
An unfamiliar
sensation, followed by a burning pain, attacked Tenzan.
He gasped, his body
stiffening in confusion.
"...This is
troublesome, really."
"Ka...nou..."
Kanou's whispered
words echoed in Tenzan's consciousness as he began to sink from the intense
pain.
It was more of a
resigned resolution than a determined one.
—How could he have not realized? The pressure he felt
in the corridor was a barrier to keep people out.
"I can't let
Tenzan-dono hold us back any more than this.
What is important is
that Mikuriya Souma-sama inherits the sacred artifact, right?"
"Yo...you. Have
you become Shishin's dog?"
"Rest assured.
Thanks to my report,
that pseudo-kegare must be dead in a roadside ditch by now."
Squeezing out the
spiritual power leaving his body, Tenzan swung his arm wildly.
"—Die!"
"Ugh!"
A silver trajectory of
the sword grazed Kanou's neck.
Red droplets
splattered between the two staggering figures.
Clatter. A short sword
rolled onto the corridor, a lonely sound.
Not even having the
energy to pursue, Kanou vanished into the darkness.
"...A fatal
wound, huh?"
Even hatred and anger
can turn to laughter once they cross a certain line.
Driven by a
near-insane emotion, Tenzan also stood up.
Forgetting the truth
about Kanna-no-Mikura and the future of the Ugetsu family, information that no
longer mattered, Tenzan began to walk aimlessly.
Spiritual light rose
from the small amount of blood that was dripping
—eventually, it scattered in a disappointingly dull
manner.
In the end, even after
knowing the truth, Tenzan never apologized to Akira.
-----
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