Episode 08: People of Old

Led by Naki, Maria and company arrived at his home.

“Dad, you home?”

Naki called into the house. There was an immediate reply.

“Oh, Naki?”

From inside the house, a man with a bushy beard lumbered into view. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. Perhaps because he worked the fields every day, his sun-darkened body was quite muscular.

“We’ve got guests.”

Naki introduced Maria and the others.

“Hello, I’m called Kojirō.”

“I’m Maria. And this is Musashi.”

The two introduced themselves to the father as a greeting. Musashi had not yet woken up.

“Right, pleased to meet you. I’m this kid’s old man, Ikaru—Ikaru. Still, strange names you’ve got. You folks from foreign lands?”

Beaming beneath his bearded face, Ikaru shook hands with the two. To his question about whether they were foreigners, Kojirō deflected with, “Well, something like that.”

“What’s up with this Musashi fellow there?”

Ikaru asked, looking at Musashi on Kojirō’s back.

“They say they came from overseas and got lost. And Musashi got so hungry he blacked out and collapsed.”

Naki explained to his father. This was something Kojirō had coached Naki on earlier.

“Gahahaha, hungry, huh! That’s rough. Well, don’t stand on ceremony—come on in.”

Ikaru readily believed it and took Maria and the others in. Musashi having fainted instead won the sympathy of Naki’s family.

“Then we’ll take you up on your kind offer.”

“Excuse us.”

At Ikaru’s invitation, Maria and the others entered the house.

That night, a feast was held at Naki’s home for Maria and company. The evening’s fare was the meat of a whole wild boar and a variety of fruits.

“Wahahahaha, bring more sake!” Hoisting a cup of rice wine, Musashi shouted in high spirits.

“Gahahaha, Musashi’s quite the jovial fellow!”

Not to be outdone, Ikaru bellowed as well. The two had hit it off since Musashi woke, their similar temperaments making them fast friends, and they’d been like this ever since.

“Man… we’ve got one more loudmouth in the house now.”

Grumbling as he chomped meat behind them, Naki muttered.

“Honestly… how carefree.”

Watching the two from a corner of the room, Kojirō quietly murmured as he bit into an apple.

“Totally, Musashi’s completely forgotten his job.”

Sitting down beside Kojirō with a pear in one hand, Maria spoke as if it were someone else’s problem. It seemed she no longer remembered how she herself had been frolicking over the streets of Yamatai just a short while ago.

“Oh? And what job would that be?”

Naki’s mother—Karune—who had been listening in to Maria and Kojirō’s conversation nearby, interjected with interest. She was a woman in her mid-twenties with gentle manners. The two, who had not noticed her presence at all, jumped when suddenly addressed.

“Y-you were listening!?”

With a pale face, Kojirō let out a half-scream.

“Only partway.”

Tilting her head, Karune replied.

“So, what is this job?” Karune pressed on.

“Uh… um… (Kojirō, what do we do!?)”

Maria tugged nervously at Kojirō’s sleeve and begged in a hushed voice. Kojirō, too, fell silent in distress. Karune still seemed interested in the two.

Once again it was Musashi who saved them from their bind.

“Hey, you two! Come over here and have a drink!”

Musashi called out loudly to Maria and the others.

“Ah, but…”

Kojirō looked between Musashi and Karune and choked on his words.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. Keep the men company. We can talk another time.” Karune smiled as she said this.

“Much obliged. Maria, let’s go.”

“Okayyy.”

They gave her a slight bow and left the spot.

“Hey, Kojirō, you drink too!”

Musashi offered a drink to Kojirō as he approached.

“Sigh… I’m not very strong with alcohol…”

“Don’t say that—bottoms up!”

Ikaru egged him on as well.

“Mm… then!”

With a spirited cry, Kojirō downed it in one go.

“Oh, good chug!”

Musashi and Ikaru cheered at the same time. But when Kojirō finished, he let out a big “urp!” and his head swayed, and he collapsed just like that.

“What the—how pathetic.”

Laughing heartily, Musashi clapped Kojirō on the shoulder. Kojirō was already asleep.

“Gahaha, now that young fella’s toppled! Hey, next is the young lady’s turn.” Ikaru said and pressed a cup on Maria.

“I’ve never drunk alcohol.”

Though hesitant, Maria accepted the proffered cup.

“Haha, really? Sake’s the kind of thing you pour straight down your throat in one go.” Ikaru said, showing by example. He knocked it back in a single swig.

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll try.”

Doing as told, Maria put the cup to her lips. Musashi and Ikaru chanted, “Chug! Chug!”

Maria thrust one fist up and, holding the pose, tilted the cup. Sake dribbled and spilled from the corners of her mouth.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp…

“Phaaah!”

Having drunk it all, Maria wiped her mouth and cried out in delight.

“Oh, this lass can hold her liquor!”

“This one’s like an old man.”

Musashi and Ikaru voiced their admiration at her drinking.

However, there was now something strangely glazed in Maria’s eyes.

“Hey, her eyes are fixed!”

Noticing the change, Musashi shouted.

“Shut it, Musashi!”

Maria suddenly yelled, pushing away Musashi’s face as he peered at hers.

“Gyaaah, what are you doing!”

Musashi clutched his face and screamed.

“Shuuut up! Hey, Ikaru, bring more booze!!”

“Hey now, this one’s a raging drunk.”

With Maria’s arm slung over his shoulder, Ikaru groaned with a slightly fearful expression.

“OKaaay, tonight we’re going all out!”

With a fresh cup in hand, Maria shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Good grief, another loud one…”

Watching Maria’s rampage, Naki muttered under his breath.

The next morning, the first to wake was Kojirō.

“Urgh…”

Clutching his head aching from the hangover, Kojirō pushed himself halfway up.

(This is why I dislike alcohol…)

Groaning inwardly, he looked around. Beside him, Maria, Musashi, and Ikaru were sleeping in sloppy postures. Only Naki and Karune were wrapped in fur blankets as they slept.

As his head cleared, a fierce nausea welled up in Kojirō.

(I should go outside.)

Seeking fresh air, he took his “Washing Pole” sword and stepped out.

“It’s still before dawn.”

He looked up and murmured. Only a faint whitening showed in the east; the sun was not yet visible.

After a deep breath to his fullest, the nausea subsided a little.

“I’ll walk a bit.”

He moved his feet as he said so. Not that he had any particular aim; he simply picked a direction at random.

After walking for a while, he spotted the large building he had seen yesterday.

(That would be Himiko’s palace, if I recall…)

In the gloom, the palace loomed dull and gave off an air that was somehow hard to approach.

(Himiko is inside there…)

So, thinking, he gazed at the palace.

Then a sound of running water reached Kojirō’s ears.

A river, perhaps?—When he pricked up his ears, he realized it came from the woods behind Himiko’s palace, and that it was a waterfall.

Curiosity stirred in Kojirō and he wanted to see the waterfall. Fortunately—or perhaps not—the palace guard was thin, with only two gatekeepers. Sneaking in would be easy.

Circling around to the back woods, Kojirō vaulted the two-meter palisade and slipped easily into the grounds. With the sun peeking a little, he could just manage to walk even within the trees.

(The waterfall’s this way.)

Kojirō moved his feet, following the sound.

Soon the cascade grew louder, and the woods ended a few dozen meters ahead. The waterfall must be close.

And when he emerged from the woods, a small waterfall lay before him. Kojirō gasped at its beauty, but then he spotted a person in the pool below and let out a sound.

“Ah…!”

“Who’s there!?”

The other reacted swiftly and answered. There, on the bank with half her body in the water, a completely naked girl covered her chest with a nearby miko’s robe, clutching a small blade in one hand and glaring at him with a frightened expression. She looked fifteen or sixteen. Her beautiful black hair was so long it floated on the water, hiding her lower body, and her skin was as white and fine as silk.

“M-my apologies, I am no suspicious person! I lost my way and happened upon this place by chance!”

Kojirō lowered his gaze, tossed his sword onto the ground, and raised both hands.

“And you are… who?”

“I—I am called Kojirō. I lost my way and was in dire straits when the Ikaru family of this town took me in and let me stay the night.”

To the girl’s question, Kojirō honestly gave his name.

“Then you are not a pawn of Kunu?” The girl asked.

(Kunu—)

Hearing that name, Kojirō remembered the mission given to him, and thinking “perhaps,” he asked the girl her name.

“What is your name?”

“Eh?”

The girl hesitated for a moment, but after thinking, she answered thus: “My name is Iyo.”