Chapter 194: The Shogun Succession Ritual
◆ Yukinojo ◆
“Please enter.”
Guided by the priest, it was a room situated in the middle of the mansion.
“Is the Shogun succession ritual going to be held here?”
“That is correct. Now, please.”
“Umu.”
Prompted by the priest, I enter the room.
However, looking inside the room, I was bewildered.
“What is this? Is it not just an ordinary room?”
Indeed, the room the priest guided me to was an ordinary room that could be found anywhere.
It did not seem at all like a sacred place to hold the Shogun succession ritual.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Hearing that voice from the back of the room, I realized belatedly that there was a prior guest.
I thought it was the priest waiting to perform the Shogun succession ritual, but the moment I saw that person’s figure, I was bewildered once again.
“…Who are you?”
It was no wonder I said that.
After all, the man’s appearance was so filthy I couldn’t believe he was a priest.
He wasn’t wearing a casual kimono like a commoner, nor was he dressed like a samurai. If I had to describe it, it was foreign-style clothing with matching colors on the top and bottom.
The only reason I felt it wasn’t foreign clothing was because the design of the clothes he wore was Amatsumine-style.
“Hahaha, you don’t know who I am?”
Despite being told I didn’t know who he was, the man laughed in amusement.
Who on earth is he? Since he was here, is he involved in the Shogun succession ritual?
But that question was blown away by the outrageous statement the man made next.
“I am the Mikado. The one who rules this country… right.”
“Hah!?”
Yes, of all things, this man claimed to be the Mikado.
At such a highly disrespectful remark, I involuntarily let out a dumbfounded voice.
“Do not speak foolishness! There is no way the Mikado is a filthy man like you!”
That’s right, the Mikado is the symbol of this country and its most noble personage. He is absolutely not a filthy man like this.
“Hahahahah! A filthy man, you say!”
However, the man continued to laugh without showing any signs of shame for his disrespectful remark.
“To falsely claim the name of the Mikado is the height of disrespect! I shall punish you myself!”
As a samurai serving the Mikado, and as the next Shogun, I cannot let such a scoundrel run wild!
“Please calm down, Lord Yukinojo.”
But for some reason, the priest stepped between us and stopped me.
“Why are you stopping me!? This man is a grave sinner who falsely claimed the name of the Mikado!”
Yes, claiming the name of the Mikado is an unimaginably grave sin, is it not?
So why is the priest who serves the Mikado stopping me!?
“He is not falsely claiming it.”
“What?”
“This filthy gentleman is indeed the Mikado himself, the supreme authority of our country.”
“Hah!?”
Unbelievable words jumped out from the priest, and my eyes widened.
This filthy man is really the Mikado!?
“I understand your feelings very well, but it is the truth.”
“Hey, hey. Even you’re treating me like a filthy old man now.”
“It is the truth.”
“No… but…”
I can’t believe it. This man, dressed in filthy clothes like a worker laboring in a workshop, is the Mikado himself who unites the samurai of Amatsumine!?
But these are the words of the priest of the land holding the Shogun succession ritual.
Should I… believe it?
“That is why I told you, Mikado. You should at least dress a bit more decently during an audience.”
“What do you mean, Mikado. That’s just a title in name only anyway. Once this boy learns the reason, he’ll quickly understand why I’m dressed like this.”
“The reason?”
At the strange conversation between the priest and the Mikado… sama, I involuntarily tilted my head.
“That’s right, boy. Just as this guy says, I’m the real Mikado.”
“…Hah!? P-Please forgive me, Mikado! I am Youren Natsunori‘s only son, Youren Yukinojo. To His Majesty the Mikado…”
I still don’t know if the filthy m… gentleman in front of me is really the Mikado.
But since the priest attests to it, I have no choice but to believe this person is truly the Mikado.
If so, my attitude up until now has been extremely bad.
Rather, it’s to the point where I should commit seppuku for the crime of disrespect!
I hurriedly dropped to my knees and bowed my head.
“Ah, that’s enough of that. I already know you’re Natsunori‘s son from Omitsu‘s letter.”
However, the Mikado flapped his hand as if it were bothersome and told me to stop, as if he didn’t care.
“Then!”
At the Mikado’s words, I raised my head while offering feelings of gratitude to my uncle.
“Wait, wait. First, listen to my story. It’s an important story. And while I’m at it, that story is also the reason I’m dressed in this filthy manner.”
“Meaning!? Regarding your attire!?”
Come to think of it, he did say something like that earlier.
“That’s right. Because Mikado isn’t the name of the king who rules this country. The Mikado is, you see, the name of the administrator of the magic item that protects this country from disasters!”
“Th-The administrator of a magic tool!? The Mikado is!?”
The Mikado is the administrator of a magic tool!? What on earth does that mean!?
“Yeah. The matter goes back thousands of years. The ancient magic civilization that once prospered in this world collapsed due to a certain incident. But well, even we don’t really understand that incident; it’s said to have been a battle with a legendary Majin, a failure of a massive magic experiment, or even caused by a natural disaster.”
“Haa.”
I have certainly heard that story.
The story that a great disaster occurred in ancient times and the whole world fell into a terrible state is a fairy tale known by every child in Amatsumine.
“And here’s the problem. This land of Amatsumine where we live took the brunt of that great disaster’s effects. The majority of the Amatsumine land, which was far vaster back then than it is now, sank into the sea, and it’s said that the sky, the land, and the sea raged as if it were the end of the world.”
“The end of the world…”
In the fairy tales I heard from my wet nurse and the old men, the wording was a bit more vague, but the Mikado clearly asserts the scale of the disaster.
“In that state, they couldn’t even board a ship and escape to an outside continent. So the surviving ancient magic civilization people created a massive magic item to stop the disasters in the land of Amatsumine. Thanks to that, the disasters assailing the land of Amatsumine subsided, and it became the land of Amatsumine you know today.”
“Oh!”
To think! To think there was such history in Amatsumine’s past!
“The people praised the developer of the magic item who brilliantly stopped the disasters as a hero. And they asked him to become the king who would guide them.”
“Is that the beginning of the Mikado’s lineage…?”
“Yeah. But the one who was troubled by that was my ancestor.”
However, at that point, the Mikado shrugged, saying it was a problem.
“Why was it a problem? Isn’t it a natural progression for a hero who saved the country to become king?”
A hero founding a country is a commonly heard story. Even in tales and founding myths transmitted from foreign countries, one often hears similar stories.
“Well, it’s a common story in tales, right. But my ancestors thought that wouldn’t do.
Certainly, the land and people of Amatsumine were saved thanks to the massive magic item. But a magic item is a tool. Humans must maintain it. They couldn’t afford to play king while leaving a tool that no one knew when it might malfunction or break unattended.”
“That is…”
Now that he mentions it, that’s true. Not just a samurai’s armor and weapons, but everyday tools will eventually break.
There is no guarantee anywhere that only a magic tool won’t break.
“Besides, if by some chance they were killed by guys aiming for the throne, when the magic item eventually broke, this country would perish without being able to do anything. They had to do something about that at least.”
Mmm, that is certainly true.
Even though the method to save the country is right in front of you, if the most crucial part of it is broken, it defeats the purpose.
“That’s why my ancestors decided. They’d leave the actual political power to others and become figureheads themselves.”
“And that is why this country came to be governed by the Shogun?”
“Yeah. We, the Mikado lineage, inherited the knowledge and technology of magic items, and our sole duty became the repair of the deteriorating magic item. And we decided to tell that truth only to the guys who would become Shogun generation after generation. This is the truth of the Shogun succession.”
I see. If there were such circumstances, I can understand the reason the Mikado entrusts politics to the Shogun.
“Why only the Shogun? Why not let others know about it?”
Umu, that was the only thing that bothered me. If it’s a magic tool that could spell the survival or destruction of the nation, shouldn’t the people of Amatsumine unite to protect it?
However, hearing that, the Mikado smiled wryly and scratched his head.
“Ah, well, how should I put it.”
“To put it bluntly, it is to have the Shogun’s family act as a shield.”
“A shield?”
“Yes. If the truth of the Mikado’s role were known, those aiming for the Mikado’s technology and the massive magic item would appear. And there is a risk they would demand submission using the country’s peace as a shield.”
“Ugh, that is certainly…”
Ah, now that he mentions it, that’s true. If it’s a magic tool used to protect the country, if misused, it could naturally be used as a tool to rule the country.
“Though, you can’t use the magic tool that conveniently. A scoundrel might think they just need to remove the lands of opposing factions from the magic item’s protection, but in reality, the entire country and the surrounding seas are all within the magic item’s range. If they stopped the device for blackmail, there’s a possibility the very place they live in would be destroyed overnight.”
“That’s, how should I put it, reaping what they sow.”
To threaten others thinking they’ve obtained everything, only to have their own domain destroyed—it wouldn’t even be a laughing matter.
“In fact, long ago, there really was an idiot who tried to do that. In the end, it ended in a massive failure, and since then, the other Domain Lords decided to cooperate in concealing the information, finding it unbearable if they got dragged into it.”
“And so it became its current form.”
“That’s the gist of it.”
I see. The magic tool for protecting the country can’t be used that conveniently, but even if explained, there will be those who won’t believe it until they actually try using it.
To begin with, if it could be used that conveniently, successive Mikados and Shoguns would have utilized it.
The fact that they didn’t is probably proof that the Mikado’s words are true.
“However, what is the relation between this story and those clothes?”
“That’s simple. Just as I said, I’m the successor to the magic item technicians passed down for generations. That’s why I spend my days maintaining the massive magic item to protect the country’s peace. In other words, these are my work clothes.”
“Work clothes!?”
Ah, now that he mentions it, despite resembling foreign clothes, clothes without any frilly decorations could certainly be seen as work clothes.
“I wanted you to wear decent clothes at least during an audience, though.”
The priest voiced a bitter complaint, telling him to at least dress properly in an official setting.
It seems the Mikado is quite a slo… free-spirited person.
“Don’t be stupid. If I wore such frilly clothes and said I was a magic item technician, would anyone believe me?”
Well, that is also true, but…
“You weren’t believed to be the Mikado even in those clothes, were you not.”
Indeed. In fact, I didn’t believe it either.
“Ah, it’s fine. You properly believed me in the end, didn’t you!”
“Yes, with me acting as a witness.”
However, to think the true identity of the Mikado was a magic tool technician.
It’s an unbelievable story, but I can’t imagine them going out of their way to bring the next Shogun here just to put on a farce.
The story up until now must be the truth.
“Yeah. For those reasons, I leave politics to you! With this, the Shogun succession is complete!”
“Eh!? Is it fine for it to be that simple!?”
The Mikado, who had just been arguing with the priest, appointed me as Shogun with the casualness of running an errand.
“Yeah! Because I, the Mikado, permit it, so it’s fine!”
S-So easily… What were all the hardships leading up to this point for?
“Please wait. We have not discussed the most important matter.”
Then, the priest stopped the Mikado as he was about to leave the room.
“Ah, right. Hey boy. Lend me the katana at your waist.”
“My katana?”
I didn’t quite understand, but I handed over the katana as told.
The Mikado then grabbed the scabbard and stared at the hilt without drawing the blade.
“Alright, alright, it’s been properly inherited.”
“Inherited? That is just a katana I received from my father as a celebration of my coming-of-age, though?”
“Yeah, the blade is. But this is different.”
Saying that, the Mikado disassembled the hilt and removed the handguard from the blade.
“The katana’s handguard… is it?”
“That’s right, this thing is important. This is the key to activating the massive magic item that protects the country.”
“The handguard is the key to the magic tool!?”
What!? What does that mean!?
“Yeah. The keys to activate the massive magic item are made into the handguards of two swords, a tachi and a wakizashi, to be held by successive Mikados and Shoguns. The key the Mikado holds is fitted into the device to keep the massive magic item constantly activated. Your key is a spare in case something happens to that key.”
“To think this handguard had such a meaning…”
I-I never imagined the katana I was bestowed by my father held such a secret…
Umu, I’m truly glad I brought the katana with me when I escaped from the castle…
“We’ll take that and head to the massive magic item. If we register you as the master in that handguard there, your Shogun succession will be comp—”
“I see, so there was a spare key in a place like this.”
It was then.
The moment the Mikado tried to stand up, the wall of the mansion suddenly blew away.
“Guaah!”
“Are you alright, Saburo!?”
Enduring the blast, I looked in the direction of the scream, and the priest was injured while protecting the Mikado.
A broken piece of building material was painfully pierced into his back!
“To not only succeed in infiltrating the village but also to learn of the existence of a spare key… I have good luck.”
From beyond the cloud of dust, an unfamiliar man’s voice could be heard along with the sound of something dragging.
“Who are you!”
“Oh, excuse me. My name is Zarkyur, the Majin Zarkyur.”
Appearing with those words was a demonic being with dark brown skin, silver hair, and bat wings growing from his back.
He was a comrade of the terrifying Majin who had attacked me before.
“A Majin!?”
To think they would appear even in a place like this!
“Impossible!? A Majin!? A barrier that prevents evil beings from entering is deployed around this village, you know!?”
However, the Mikado raised a voice of surprise even greater than mine.
Or rather, there was a barrier deployed around this village?
But the Majin laughed and denied it, saying the barrier meant nothing.
“Kukukuku, a barrier is meaningless to me. Now, hand over that key. Unless you want to end up like this man.”
“Ugh.”
When the Majin raised one arm from the dust cloud, the injured figure of Haruomi was there.
“Haruomi!?”
“Y-Young Master… please run away…”
Haruomi told me to run with a weak voice.
“You bastard, what did you do to Haruomi!?”
“Nothing, he was just lingering like a dog in front of the mansion. I just played with him a little.”
I trembled with anger at the Majin who answered as if it were nothing.
“You bastard!”
“Now, hand it over. If you don’t, this man will…”
Saying that, the Majin casually pulled Haruomi‘s arm; the sleeve of his kimono tore, and a scream went up.
“Guaaaaah!”
“Haruomi!”
“What’s wrong? If you don’t hurry, this man’s arm will be torn off.”
“Gaaah!”
The Majin showed off the suffering figure of Haruomi while floating an amused smile.
“W-Wait!”
“Y-You must not. If you hand that over, the land of Amatsumine will…”
“Shut up, old man!”
” “Uwaah!?” “
When the Majin swung his arm, the Mikado and the priest were blown away.
This is bad, at this rate, not only Haruomi but the lives of the Mikado and the priest are also in danger!
“I-I understand. I’ll give you the key. So give Haruomi back!”
When I tossed the katana’s handguard towards the Majin, he let go of Haruomi and caught the handguard.
“Kuhahahahah, with this, I have obtained the key! Here, I’ll return this guy to you!”
“Guah!?”
Laughing amusedly, the Majin casually kicked Haruomi, sending him rolling towards me.
“Haruomi!”
I gathered the injured Haruomi in my arms and confirmed his safety.
Thank goodness, he is injured, but there’s little bleeding and no deep wounds.
“I-I am deeply sorry. Because of me, the key was…”
Even so, Haruomi still apologized to me, looking apologetic.
“It does not matter! It cannot replace your life!”
That’s right. To me, my important vassal Haruomi is far more important than the key to a magic tool I barely understand.
“Young Master!? What a…”
Hearing that, Haruomi distorted his face apologetically…
“What a foolish man you are!”
Suddenly thinking he pushed me away, he then pinned me to the ground and straddled me.
“Wha-!? Guh!?”
“Hahahah, to abandon the country and its people and run after immediate profit, you truly did not have the caliber of a Shogun!”
Haruomi abused me while floating a smile I had never seen before.
What on earth is going on!?
“H-Haruomi… come to your senses.”
“!”
At that moment, Haruomi stopped moving.
Did my words reach him!?
“I am not Haruomi.”
“What?”
“My name is not Haruomi! My true name is Shun’ou!”
“Shun… ou?”
I was bewildered by the name I had never heard before.
Haruomi‘s true name?
“That’s right, the name of a king bestowed with the character for Spring, which heralds the season. It is my true name stolen by your father!”
Stolen!? By my father!?
“Stolen, you say? Could you possibly be Lady Yume’s child!”
Hearing Haruomi‘s words, the Mikado asked in an agitated manner.
“Hoh, so you knew. As expected of the Mikado.”
“Lady Yume? Who is that?”
It’s a name I’ve never heard. The wife of which Domain Lord?
“Hah, to not even know the name of the Shogun’s lawful wife.”
My father’s lawful wife? No, that’s wrong. My father’s lawful wife is…
“My father’s lawful wife is my mother, you know? What are you saying, Haruomi!?”
That’s right. My father’s lawful wife is my mother, Lady Kokoromo. Not a woman named Lady Yume.
“It seems you haven’t been taught anything. How infuriating! After stealing everything from me!”
But Haruomi says I just don’t know.
Did my father really have a lawful wife other than my mother?
Is that why the Mikado was so surprised?
“What does this mean!? What are you talking about when you say I haven’t been taught!?”
“Hmph, normally I’d want to tell you everything and kill you in the depths of despair, but there’s no telling when those brats will return. You can just die without knowing anything!”
Haruomi drew his sword and thrust the blade at me.
“Wha-!?”
But what I heard instead of pain was Haruomi‘s voice of surprise.
And Haruomi‘s blade was repelled by a wall of light.
“What on earth is this!?”
“What is this!?”
“Light is protecting the Youren boy? What on earth is that?”
Even the Mikado raised a voice of surprise, saying he didn’t know what this was.
Then who on earth is protecting me!?
“Hmph, what are you playing around for. Just a mere human!”
A dark red, evil radiance gathered above the Majin’s hand and was fired towards me.
“Tch!”
Haruomi hurriedly jumped back, not wanting to be caught up in it.
This is bad, I must run too!
But the Majin’s attack struck before I even had time to stand up.
“Uwaah!?”
An explosive roar resounded, and my body was blown to piec… blown to… hm?
“Wh-What did you say!?”
When I opened my eyes, I saw the astonished expressions of the Majin and Haruomi.
And in front of me was the wall of light from earlier.
Did this wall really protect me?
“Eei! Insolent! How about this then!”
The Majin generated a massive amount of dark red light and unleashed all of it towards me.
“It’s a barrage of attacks that not even a Dragon could withstand! Be blown away!”
This is bad! As expected, this is terrible!?
But indoors, there’s no room to dodge!? I have to escape outsid—
“!? No good!”
I tried to flee, but I remembered that the Mikado and the others were right nearby.
If only I escape like this, the Mikado and the others will be killed in my place!
“Kuh!”
I braced myself and remained on the spot.
I’m counting on you, wall of light! Protect me and the Mikado’s group!
And then my entire field of vision was swallowed by a dark red explosion.
“Uwoooooooh!?”
Please! Withstand it!
“Kuhahahahahahahah! Vanish without leaving a single speck of dust behind!”
The Majin’s loud laughter and the explosive roar dominated the world.
Tremendous vibrations shook the earth, and an impact so violent I thought the world might break raged on.
“Hmph, for me of all people to get worked up and overdo it a little.”
“Absolutely. I was almost caught up in it myself.”
“Fuhahahaha, don’t say that. Now, let’s take a look at the figure of your hated enemy turned into a lump of meat…”
The dust cloud cleared, and our gazes intersected.
“…Umm, I am alive, you know.”
Umu, I was alive.
Also, the Mikado and the others were alive too. Though they look like they’re about to faint.
” “Wh-Why are you aliveeeeeeeee!?” “
At the fact that I was alive, the Majin and Haruomi screamed.
Ah, yeah, I wished for it to withstand it, but I was also surprised it actually did.
What on earth really is this wall of light?
“Kuh! You endlessly persistent, infuriating bastard!”
Haruomi glared at me, weaving words filled with grudge.
“Haruomi…”
Why. Why do you hate me so much…
“Guh!”
It was then.
The voice of the priest, who had protected the Mikado, suffering in pain echoed through the room.
“This is bad! He must be seen by a doctor immediately!”
That’s right. At this rate, the priest will die!
“Hm? I see. Hey, those two. If I target those two directly, that strange wall of light won’t appear.”
“Hoh?”
Hearing Haruomi‘s words, the Majin floated an amused smile.
“What are you saying, Haruomi!? This gentleman is the Mikado!”
To attempt to kill the Mikado who protects this country is an outrageous, grave sin!
“So what! I care nothing for a Mikado who left me to die! Rather, if killing these guys lets me see you suffer, I’ll gladly kill them!”
“What a thing to say!”
“If you want to protect these guys, you should protect them! But how long will that strange wall last?”
“Kuh!”
It’s true I don’t know why this wall of light protects me.
Perhaps this wall might lose its power and disappear at any moment.
But…
“But I cannot abandon them!”
To divert the enemy’s attention from the Mikado and the priest, I readied my katana and charged forward.
“Take the priest and escape while you can, Mikado! We cannot let you, who can repair the magic tool, die!”
I am the next Shogun who protects this country! Even if I die, I will protect the Mikado!
“Haaaaaaaah!”
“Whoops, your opponent is me!”
Haruomi stood in the way of me trying to attack the Majin.
“Haruomi!”
Tch! Because the sword was disassembled to remove the handguard and is just the blade, I can’t put strength into it properly!
“Now, do it!”
“Kuku, to hate each other among the same kind, humans truly are foolish creatures.”
The light raised by the Majin was fired towards the Mikado’s group.
But the Mikado, carrying the severely injured priest, could not possibly evade it.
“Mikado!”
I stepped forward to protect the Mikado, but Haruomi obstructed me.
“Hahaha! I said I won’t let you!”
“Haruomiiii!”
It’s no use! I won’t make it!
“It’s okay!”
It was then.
A young woman’s voice echoed through the room that had become a battlefield.
At the same time, something collided with the dark red radiance fired by the Majin and burst.
“Uwoh!?”
“ROCK WALL!”
Furthermore, the ground in front of the Mikado’s group swelled up, protecting them from the burst of dark red radiance.
“Oh!? Th-This is!?”
“What happened!?”
The Majin also seemed unable to understand the situation, and a bewildered voice could be heard.
“I don’t really know why a Majin is here, but don’t think you can do as you please now that we’ve arrived.”
As if ignoring us in our confusion, a single young woman appeared along with the voice heard earlier.
“Who are you!?”
The Majin raised a voice of vigilance while attempting to fire the dark red light from earlier at the woman.
But another shadow appeared from behind the Majin.
“It’s not just Liliera.”
“Guoh!? Kuh, newcomers!?”
The one who slashed at the Majin from behind was also a young woman.
“Wh-Who on earth are you…?”
“Norb, please heal the older gentlemen over there.”
“Understood. Please rest assured. I will heal you immediately.”
Turning towards the third voice, I saw an unfamiliar young man casting healing magic on the priest.
The young man’s healing magic seemed to be of considerable skill, and the severely injured priest’s wounds closed up in the blink of an eye.
“O-Oh!? The pain is!?”
“Saburo! Thank goodness…”
Relieved by that sight, I returned my gaze to the women confronting the Majin again.
“That appearance… are you guys citizens of a foreign country too!”
At Haruomi‘s words, I gasped.
That’s right. That appearance, those clothes, definitely the appearance of foreigners.
“Could it be you are… Mina‘s comrades!?”
“Oh, you know Mina?”
The woman who heard Mina‘s name turned towards me.
But that was a mistake.
The Majin and Haruomi attacked the woman who had averted her eyes.
” “Hah!!” “
“No!”
What a disaster! To let her concentration break in the middle of a battle!
I hurriedly tried to catch up to Haruomi, but from here I wouldn’t make it in time at all!
“Whoops, won’t let you.”
But the other woman obstructed that attack, and utilizing the opening created then, she completely evaded the attack.
“Tch!”
“That one seems to be a human of this country, but are you a comrade of the Majin too?”
The attacked woman showed no signs of panic and stared dubiously at Haruomi who attacked alongside the Majin.
“Kuh.”
“Well fine. We’ve obtained what we came for. We’re pulling back.”
“…Understood.”
At the Majin’s words urging retreat, Haruomi also backed down.
“Wait, Haruomi!”
But I stopped Haruomi.
I hadn’t heard Haruomi‘s true intentions yet!
“…My name is Shun’ou! I am not your vassal!”
At Haruomi‘s words of rejection, my body involuntarily stiffened.
At the same time, a large black sphere was born behind the Majin and Haruomi.
“That’s… could it be a teleportation gate!?”
One of the women who had come to our aid raised a panicked voice for the first time.
The Majin entered inside it, and Haruomi also entered.
But before his body completely sank in, Haruomi opened his mouth.
“Yukinojo, from here on we will destroy this country. Everything in this country that stole everything from me!”
“Why, Haruomi!”
“If you want to stop me, come to the magic tool!”
“Haruomi!”
“Farewell, Yukinojo!”
“Wai—”
When Haruomi‘s body completely sank into the black sphere, the sphere instantly shrank and vanished.
In its wake, neither the Majin nor Haruomi‘s figure remained.
“Oops, they got away.”
“It’s good we didn’t go in. If you enter a Majin’s gate, there’s no telling where you’ll be sent.”
Those who had come to our aid were saying something, but those words didn’t reach my ears.
More than such things, the fact that Haruomi was gone was far more significant to me.
“Why. Why, Haruomi, Haruomiiiiii!!”
With resentment in my chest for an unanswerable question, I had no choice but to slam my fist into the ground…
