Chapter 215: East, Hwaseong (3)
The wounded were nearing the end of their treatment.
A shrine maiden and two ninja spirits who had come to the village after hearing the news had appeared, and were now talking to them.
It wasn’t really a place for cadets to be, but those of us who had driven Miho out of the village were invited to join them.
The black-haired woman standing in the center of the group was the first to bow.
She was a shrine maiden who would be at the center of this incident.
I couldn’t quite remember how many generations she was.
“I, Hino, the 53rd shrine maiden and heir of the Embers, would like to express my deepest gratitude to the members of the Innocence Academy on behalf of Hwaseong.”
Fifty-three generations, that’s a long time.
Apparently, Hino’s name indicated that she was a shrine maiden.
That means there were 52 Hino’s besides her.
“We did what we had to do.”
Edward, the Academy’s representative, bowed.
Brief greetings were exchanged on both sides, and the conversation cut straight to the chase.
“The members of the Academy told me you were traveling, and I’m afraid we may have presented a less than favorable picture of the country.”
“I understand. Every country is bound to have a problem or two that gives them a headache.”
“It would have been much better if you could have held onto it a little longer.”
One of the ninja next to Hino said in a grumpy voice.
He had a disgruntled expression like that of a toad.
He was a dooshin who ruled over the villages around here.
“Happo, your tone is quite disturbing. These are the people who saved a village with which they have no connection.”
“I apologize, shrine maiden.”
Judging by his appearance and cocky demeanor, it would be easy to think, “Is he a traitor?” and I wanted to, but alas, Happo was not a traitor.
He’s just a bit ill-tempered and a bit averse to ‘strangers’.
…On second thought, maybe not ‘a little’.
“I’m not the one who should be apologizing.”
“…”
Hino glanced at Happo, and Happo lowered his head, unable to meet Hino’s fierce gaze.
It wasn’t so strange that a man who was supposed to be the leader of several villages of ninjas couldn’t even make a sound to a shrine maiden.
It was all due to the Hwaseong Kingdom’s system.
The king had entrusted the management and protection of his territory to ten lords, each of whom had many ninja under him, so this could be considered a private army but there was no coup.
All ninja have an unwritten code of honor: do not oppose the king.
The consequences of breaking this rule are death.
Even if there were two lords in Hwaseong history who tried to stage a coup, they would have been eliminated before they had a chance to do so.
The original ninja are good at that, and the two lords are in a position to keep each other in check.
The same goes for the higher ranking ninja who are beneath them.
If one of them plots to betray his country, he has a reason to remove him at any time, and the vacancy created by the removal of the coup-plotter belongs to the higher-ranking ninja who took his head.
So now there are no more reckless lords to walk the streets where death lurks.
So what is the position of a shrine maiden?
A shrine maiden has power almost comparable to that of a king.
She has the power to control all of Hwaseong’s divine beasts, and when she has a complete set of divine beasts, even a lord would stand no chance against her.
Moreover, killing her would lead to the current situation.
Just a few years ago, an ignorant demon assassinated a shrine maiden. The demon was killed instantly, but with her assassination, the country was plunged into chaos by the divine beasts.
The uncontrollable divine beasts, carrying on the maiden’s grudge, were rampaging and burning the country to the ground.
In a half-hearted attempt to save themselves, Hwaseong made Hino, the most likely candidate for the next shrine maiden, a shrine maiden, and gave her full power to retrieve the divine beasts.
That was the reason why Happo couldn’t stand up to a shrine maiden who hadn’t completed the succession ceremony.
“Haha, it’s okay, maybe we didn’t have enough cadets.”
When Happo didn’t apologize until the end, Edward chuckled and shot back.
“What do you mean, cadets?”
Happo raised one eyebrow at the mention of the cadets stopping the newcomer.
“It was the cadets standing behind me, not the instructors, who stopped the divine beast.”
“I’d like to hear more about what happened.”
Hino asked, tilting her head.
“Hmm… Perhaps someone would like to explain?”
At his suggestion, Yuri, who was behind me, taps his finger on my back.
“Zetto explain.”
“…I’ll explain.”
“……”
I’m shoved in front, and I’m met with strange stares from the Hwaseong group and they looked at me as if they didn’t know how I would explain.
“The white bandage… Is it…? No. Can you explain first?”
At least Hino seemed to know about me, but that wasn’t important right now.
I immediately proceeded to explain how I was able to chase away Miho.
“…So I figured her weakness was water.”
“Exactly. But it requires a lot of water.”
Happo, who was crossing his arms, nodded.
“So I decided to try to make it rain.”
“Rain…? Of course rain works best, but…”
“Are you saying that Western magic can change the climate?”
“Well, that’s not possible for us, cadets, at any rate. We could only make it rain with our mana, and it was only a brief trickle. Luckily, Cadet Orphele here is a master of water magic, so he shot a giant drop of water into the sky, and then…”
“After…?”
“…I sliced through that droplet, and that’s how I made it rain from the sky.”
“Even with your explanation, I don’t understand, did any of the lesser ninja who remained in the village witness the scene?”
“I… I was nearby.”
“Your name must be…”
“…My name is Daijin, my lord.”
“Yes, Daijin. Is what that cadet said true?”
At Happo’s question, the lowly ninja named Daijin, who was on crutches, scratched his cheek.
“There was a giant water ball in the sky, yes, and then that cadet ran towards another cadet…”
“Go on.”
“Well… after that, I couldn’t keep track with my eyes, although it’s true that it rained as a roar echoed in the sky.”
“…It was a speed that was invisible even to a ninja’s eyes?”
Happo, who had a strong ninja pride, asked.
“I apologize, my lord.”
“Happo, what does it matter if it was invisible to the eyes of a lesser ninja?”
“It could be that these strangers are taking advantage of a lucky rain shower and running a scam, after all, they’re only cadets, according to the academy.”
Happo’s eyes narrowed as he pointed at me.
“Besides, the blind man’s sword…If I were you, I’d dodge it without opening my eyes. That’s not a very credible explanation, is it?”
“Happo…”
Hino’s voice lowers, as if she’s angered by Happo’s rudeness.
“…Is that so?”
I eventually lost it and said something like that.
‘This Happo is way out of line.’
I could understand his conservative nature of being suspicious of strangers, but he dared to disrespect my master’s swordsmanship.
“What?”
“That you can dodge it without even opening your eyes.”
“Huh…”
Before Happo, who laughed in disbelief, could formulate an answer, I grabbed the sword at my waist.
In that split second, the world stops.
The entrance to the tent was slightly lifted by the wind blowing in, and Hino’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Happo.
In a world where everything has stopped, only I can move.
Technically, I’m not the only one, since Sierra is here.
I walked leisurely in front of Happo.
His eyes didn’t follow me at all, as if he couldn’t keep up with my speed.
-Awww.
I gently slid my sword into the chair he was sitting in. It was right next to where his neck was.
[Hmph…]
Sierra, who had watched the whole thing in real time, tilted her head, looking at me curiously.
I take another breath, and the world starts to move again.
-Boom!
With a deafening crash, the chair Happo was sitting in tumbles backwards without resistance.
-Kudangtang!
Then came a rather ridiculous sound.
” Dooshin!!!”
“…”
The ninjas behind Happo pulled out their chakrams, and Hino, who had been frowning, was now wide-eyed as he looked at me.
“……”
Happo, who had been knocked off his chair along with the rest of the party, glared at my red sword at the side of his neck, his mouth agape.
“How dare you…!!!”
Happo shouted, furious at my hostile behavior.
“Judging by the sound of your voice, I’m guessing my blindness prevented me from aiming for your neck.”
I said, nonchalantly pulling out the sword that was embedded in the side of his neck.
“But it looks like you didn’t dodge… were your eyes closed or open?”
Well, it wouldn’t matter either way.
I looked down at Happo and flashed him a wry smile.
“You damned thing… How dare you attack me…?”
“Happo, that’s enough, I won’t be able to keep my eyes closed for much longer.”
“But…”
“How far are you willing to go to lower the prestige of the Hwagoku? It doesn’t change the fact that they saved the people of the Hwagoku.”
“……I apologize.”
“Cadet Zetto?”
Happo, stunned by Hino’s stinging words, bowed his head deeply, and Edward, on the other side of the room, jerked his head in response, calling out to me.
“I apologize. I must have been terribly rude but I swear I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
I bowed my head and apologized politely, as Edward had hoped.
“I’m afraid our cadet went too far, he’s known for his good nature…”
“No, it’s just that it’s a strange thing to have saved people’s lives, only to be met with scorn, not gratitude.”
You have a point.
“…”
Happo was still glaring at me, but it didn’t matter what he thought of me.
“And what is your name?”
I needed only to win the favor of the woman in front of me.
“I’m…”
And I guess I was halfway there, because she was showing me a face that was the exact opposite of the one she had used to look at Happo.
“My name is Zetto.”