Chapter 216: East, Hwaseong (4)
“That was a sword I couldn’t dodge with my eyes open.”
“You’re being kind.”
“Phew, Happo actually had his eyes open.”
Hino covers her mouth with her sleeve and laughs softly.
The story is over for now, and she’s calling me over to talk to me privately.
“Paradise outcast, that’s what they call you in the East.”
Hino speaks first.
She knew about me, after all.
Paradise outcast, that’s a bit…
“…That’s not a very nice term.”
“Actually, it’s probably used in a similar sense, because there’s a rumor that you could have been a freshman, but you failed the test.”
“Haha, fresh…”
I wondered if there really was such a thing as a divine being, given what Shui had said and the fact that the person who built the Celestial Academy was also a divine being named Celestial.
“The East and the West worship different gods, so I think that’s why there are some negative reactions, although I think the roots are the same…Anyway, to think I’ve met a celebrity and I’m rude. I hope you’re enjoying your trip, but am I interrupting?”
“Not really, I’m just a man who can’t leave a woman alone with her troubles.”
“Hmm, troubles…I don’t think it’s easy to tell even if you can see my face…”
“If I told you I could hear the worry in your voice… would you believe me?”
“……I’ll believe you, because it’s true that I’m worried.”
“Is it the divine beats?”
“It’s not something I’d discuss with a stranger, but… Yes, it is. The divine beasts that used to protect Hwaseong are now being treated as monsters.”
“It’s not like I have any knowledge of this, but you seem to be having a hard time locating them…do you have any kind of device that can locate them?”
“I’ve heard that there was such a thing in the distant past but when the shrine maidens began to control them, it became unnecessary…We don’t know where they are now.”
A radar that can detect divine beasts exists and I know where it is.
It’s tricky, but if they can get it, it will make retrieving the divine beasts much easier than it is now.
“I can feel Miho’s fear and resentment even from here.”
Hino shook her head ruefully as she stood on the hill, looking down at the village in flames.
“Cadet Zetto. No, can I call you Zetto?”
“You can call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Zetto, can you believe that all of this happened because of the assassination of the ancestral shrine maiden?”
“…”
“The Ancestral Shrine Maiden often told me that the Shrine Maidens of the Hwaseong Country are like gunpowder, that even the slightest spark will cause them to explode, so she told me that I should keep my emotions in check, but I can’t seem to do that as well as I thought I could, given how much anguish and pain she was in… I wonder why the gods are so angry.”
“I think that they must have felt the same way, just as you followed and cherished the old shrine maiden, they did the same.”
“Miho liked to play tricks on people, scaring them when they came to the shrine, taking what they were eating and running off with it… that Miho…”
Hino squeezed her eyes shut as she looked out over the view of the village burned to the ground by Miho.
“I must thank you once again. I hear there were no casualties thanks to your help, and I’m so grateful that you were able to help stop Miho from taking the people’s children, parents, and friends.”
“As our instructor said before… we did what we had to do.”
“…I wonder if you’ll overlook Happo’s disrespect, as I was supposed to have him under control, but it seems I haven’t gotten the recognition I deserve yet.”
“Why?”
“They say I’m a half-assed shrine maiden who hasn’t even taken the succession ceremony. To take the succession ceremony, I need four divine beasts that belong to a special class.”
“Miho must be one of them.”
“Yes, but I don’t have any of them in my arms, so the half shrine maiden isn’t wrong.”
“Don’t worry too much, you’ll have your succession ceremony in the not too distant future, I’m sure.”
I looked up at her and flashed her a confident smile.
If only she actually had that ‘radar’, it would be a matter of time.
“Zetto… You have such a beautiful smile.”
Hino’s red eyes echoed my smile.
“Haha, I hear that a lot.”
“If only you hadn’t said that.”
“”……””
Soon, Hino and I were simultaneously giggling and holding in our laughter.
Her mental strength was also quite important in order to retrieve the Divine Beasts safely, so her current behavior made sense.
With that, I parted ways with Hino after chatting a bit about my feelings, which is something newcomers are usually curious about.
We’ll meet again when I find the radar.
We walked down the hill and back to the cadets and instructors, who explained the schedule.
Given the state of affairs in Hwaseong, it was decided that if an issue would appear at any point during the trip, we would help as much as possible. There was a meeting between the instructors, but so far it was the same game I knew.
There was nothing else to do during the day, and I made my move when the sun had set and everyone was asleep.
***
In a dark forest, where the moonlight had subsided, there were three women.
“Are you sure Zetto went this way, give me that thing.”
Frustrated, Yuri snatched the telescope from Kaen’s hand and peered at the robed figures at the far end.
“The way they walk…”
Yuri murmurs, and Kaen opens her mouth to speak as she snatches the telescope from her once more.
“Please don’t be so bossy. Keep in mind that I’m the only one who knows the extent of his powers, and we all know it wouldn’t do any good to get caught going behind his back, right?”
“…So where is Zetto going?”
“Well.”
Aizel, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Zetto, who was a dot in the distance, answered in a dull voice.
“What I do know is that he’s up to something, and he’s doing it with some strange-looking guys.”
“I don’t know the way, so I don’t know where we’re going.”
“Even if you did know the way, you wouldn’t know it.”
“Shut up, Aizel.”
“Do you think they’re trying to catch a demon?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was Zetto, but…”
“I told him to take care of himself but he’s being completely unreasonable.”
“Yuri, he didn’t listen because you told him.”
“Then why doesn’t Aizel go tell Zetto right now, don’t do anything dangerous and come back to your quarters in peace.”
“Hey, can you please stop fighting? If you keep doing that, I’m going to run forward and get within the range of his senses.”
“”……””
Yuri and Aizel glare at each other at Kaen’s threat, then fall silent.
“I don’t really like being with you either. I could have come by myself, but I asked you to come with me because there’s a chance that something might happen that I won’t be able to stop on my own.”
“Ha, so what? You got caught going alone.”
“Didn’t we all think the same thing in the first place? I thought he was going to see the shrine maiden or something, but now I see he’s not going to see her.”
“I suppose I should say that’s good news… Anyway, let’s follow him just long enough and not give ourselves away.”
“It won’t matter if it gets dangerous, will it?”
“”……””
Yuri asked, while Kaen and Aizel glanced at each other in turn.
They were thinking the same thing: I’m the one who’s going to save Zetto.
Of course, they were also curious and wondered what Zetto was doing in the middle of the night, sneaking out of his quarters without anyone noticing.
The three women were chasing after him, even as they wondered if he was in any danger, but secretly hoped he wasn’t.
Meanwhile, Zetto had his doubts when he saw the same emotions in the three women on the relationship chart.
‘All three of them have doubts and expectations…’
He scattered his senses, wondering if they were following him, but none of them touched anything but his companions.
Soon one of them, walking alongside him, looked at him and asked.
“By the way, who brought this blind man?”
“The man in charge of the navigation suddenly drowned, so I brought him along.”
“…Do you know how to navigate?”
“I have a pretty good ear.”
At the ensuing sarcasm, Zetto smiled and replied.
“It’s not just that you have good ears! Do you know where we’re going to rob?”
“We’re going to rob the tomb of the Great Ninja Hanzo, and if you’re going to make such a big deal about it, it’s your first time, right?”
The woman who brought me shrugged.
“It won’t be a problem, I’ll cover him. He’s so handsome and can pick a lock. The guy I hired couldn’t, so he ran away.”
“I can pick other things besides locks.”
“Like my heart?”
“Haha…”
Zetto forced a smile at the woman who had been flirting with him. He had gotten between them by using some sort of beauty queen, so he had to cater to her even if he didn’t want to.
“Damn, you’re not normal…”
“There’s nothing normal about grave robbers who dig up other people’s graves out of greed…”
“…Shut up!”
Their destination was the tomb of the Great Ninja Hanzo, the First Ninja, who was buried with a device that could locate the divine beasts.
Once inside the cave, they encountered a giant door.
There were no guards there but that didn’t mean it was easy to get into the tomb.
Hanzo’s tomb was inscribed with the name of the tomb’s owner, Hanzo, as if to dare them to enter.
Many grave robbers had attempted to enter Hanzo’s tomb in the past, but were blocked by the massive doors.
“I guess it’s my turn.”
That’s when Zetto stepped forward.
As he approached the door, he put his ear to it and turned a dial-like device embedded in the door.
“I suppose I should go back and get a proper enchanter now…”
“Could you be quiet for a moment, I can’t hear very well.”
Luckily, Zetto knew the combination to the door blocking the tomb.
‘If this door opens, these grave robbers will be dead anyway.’
Zetto wasn’t sure if he should just stand by and watch the grave robbers die.
In truth, Hanzo’s tomb was not a vault full of gold and silver treasures; it was a dungeon of sorts.