Volume 3 - CH 3.1

Translation Notes

1. The word used here is  志怪 which translates to “tales of the miraculous/strange.” They deal with the supernatural, and gods, ghosts and spirits

2. Zensen incense is an incense made from fragrant wood. There is one on display at the Shoso-in.

There were several archives within the imperial palace that collected books. The Koutou Palace Library was one of them, and it had a particularly valuable collection of books. Some of the books were written for scholars on foreign laws and history, while others were elaborately bound manuscripts and rare editions of strange tale collections. (1)

“Have you ever been to the Western Territory?”

Koushun asked that question to Shiki in a room at Koutou Academy. This country, separated down the center by a mountain range, had long been divided into the Eastern and Western Territory. The capital was located in the Eastern Territory, and Rouko, home to Ishiha’s Hatan tribe, was located in the west.

“I have been in Dou Province and Gei Province. I served as the western chief military secretary in Dou Province and an assistant inspector in Gei Province.”

Even the gentle-faced Shiki’s low voice was mellow and smooth. And just like the shadows on his face, his voice was tinged with a touch of sadness.

“Dou Province, huh. You must have had a difficult time there.”

There was an island of exiles. There were also several other small islands, which were quite difficult to manage and govern. Koushun heard that the waves were rough and the weather was harsh there.

“The winter cold was hard to withstand,” Shiki answered, nodding.

“Crops don’t grow well there because the winds are too strong. Because of that, iron manufacture and crafts flourish there. Since many of the woodturners and foot bellows operators were roughnecks, so bookish government bureaucrats are no match for them. However, it isn’t enough for warriors to simply suppress them with force.”

“Is the regional military governor handling things well?”

“The governor who summoned me at that time was a well-educated military officer. I have heard from others that the current governor is also a man of good reputation.”

“I see,” Koushun nodded. It was he who had appointed the regional military governor. “Rouko is in Gei Province. The Hatan tribe lives there. I have several eunuchs from there around me.”

“That land…isn’t very bountiful,” Shiki dropped his gaze somberly. “They can’t feed their children, so they give them away. But then there will be fewer workers. Their poverty doesn’t go away. It’s a vicious cycle. It isn’t very pleasant to see brokers coming to buy boys to make them into eunuchs.”

After he said that, he looked up, seeming to remember that he was talking to Koushun. “I apologize for going on a tangent.”

“No…”

Koushun recalled Ishiha’s face. He was still a young child, about ten or so. Ei Sei had also been around that age when he entered the inner palace.

“Generally, the western territories are poorer than the eastern territories. I hear the fish used to be so plentiful in the west that a palace could be built just with fishing.”

“Ah, yes. Ishiha also said that the elders used to be nostalgic for that time…”

“I…? Is he from the Hatan tribe?”

It appeared that he could tell from the sound of the name.

“He’s a eunuch from the Hatan tribe. He worked at Gyoukou Hall for a while. He currently works at Yamei Palace.”

“Yamei Palace…”

Shiki, who had just arrived in the imperial palace, might not know anything about the inner palace. Koushun was about to add an explanation, but before he could, Shiki said, “They say that the Raven Consort lives there.”

“You knew that already?”

“No, I learned about it after I came here. When I was in the provinces, I didn’t even know about the existence of the Raven Consort. Is it true that she undertakes everything from searching for lost items to curse killings?”

“Oh, well…”

He had never seen Jusetsu cast a curse, and he didn’t think she would.

“Um—” Just as Shiki was about to say something after careful consideration, Ei Sei came to inform them. “Dajia, the Duck Consort has arrived.”

“Oh, right. Was it today?”

He had given Kajou, who wanted to borrow books, permission to come here.

Kajou entered the room, accompanied by several attendants and eunuchs. She was a refreshing sight in her pale blue robes tinged with light grey. The dangling ornaments of her hairpins clinked together coolly.

“Did you want to borrow the classical poetry book, Kajou?”

“Yes, I have already borrowed it. There is a copy of a Kakami picture scroll in this room, I believe. I would like to borrow it.”

I want to look at it together with the Raven Consort, she said. Kajou was extremely fond of Jusetsu.

“A Kakami picture scroll?” Koushun looked at the lined-up shelves. “It must be somewhere around here.”

“I shall bring it,” Shiki quickly moved. It seemed that he already knew where everything was.

Kajou thanked him, who returned with several picture scrolls. “My, thank you very much. Are you a scholar? It’s my first time seeing you.”

Kajou often visited the academy, so she was familiar with the scholars’ faces.

“I was appointed here as a scholar recently. My name is Reiko Shiki,” Shiki bowed courteously.

“Oh, is that so? Where are you from?”

Koushun, with a start, said, “He’s from Ga Province.”

“I used to be a deputy inspector in Ga Province. I was born in Hosui in Reki Province.”

Kajou’s smile stiffened for just a moment at Shiki’s answer.

“I see. –I shall look at the contents and choose which one I wish to borrow,” Saying that with a smile, Kajou moved to the long table in the back. The eunuchs holding the picture scrolls and attendants followed. Watching them, Shiki asked Koushun, “Should I not have mentioned Reki Province?”

“Yes. …She lost someone she knew there.”

That was all Koushun said, and he glanced at Shiki. He was shrewder than he thought he would be, showing off his competence in front of a consort and promoting his name.

“——Putting that aside, weren’t you about to say something earlier?”

“Yes…” Shiki lowered his eyes. “Um, will the Raven Consort accept a request from someone like me? Or does she only listen to requests from those in the inner palace?”

“Do you have a request for her?”

Koushun was a little surprised. Somehow, Shiki didn’t look like someone who would rely on such things.

Yes, Shiki answered and rubbed his arms. His expression was dark, a shadow cast over it.

“…I’ll try asking her. By the way, what sort of request do you have for her?”

Shiki moved his gaze as if in hesitation.

“I’m sure you’ll think me a fool, but…” After saying that, Shiki lifted his eyes.

“I can see a hand pulling on my sleeve.”

Jusetsu sat down in a chair and looked at the man kneeling before her. His name was Reiko Shiki. At first glance, he didn’t look like a government official. Jusetsu hadn’t seen that many government officials to the extent that she could conclude that, but he looked very different from the officials she had seen so far. Bureaucrats were generally somewhat cold. It wasn’t that they were cold-hearted. It was an intellectual coldness, like they were sharpening their reason with knowledge.

However, this man named Shiki had no such coldness. His gaze was gentle, and there was a sense of cleanliness radiating from his ruddy skin and dress. He had an affable appearance. But, for some reason, Jusetsu could sense a shadow from him. Like the shade of early spring, there was a sudden chill and loneliness.

Why is this man in the imperial palace?

He didn’t seem to possess the spirit to work for his country or the ambition to make a name for himself. He simply looked terribly lonely.

Men like him are dangerous.

A eunuch offered a bowl of lychees to the frowning Jusetsu. The red skin was peeled in half and placed in a glass bowl for easy eating. Picking up the skin, Jusetsu put the white fruit flesh in her mouth. The sweet juices overflowed.

Jusetsu directed her gaze diagonally. Koushun was sitting there. With an expressionless face, he was leaning slightly against the armrest and sitting calmly. Nobody was saying anything. The rain was so loud that they couldn’t hear each other when they spoke.

This was the Tourin in the imperial palace, the emperor’s villa. It had a garden, a pond, and a beautiful pagoda. Under normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed the view, but the shower that suddenly started made that impossible. It felt as though this gazebo was about to be submerged.

Well, it would probably stop before that happens…

They couldn’t do anything with this kind of rain, so they could only wait for the time to pass. Jusetsu came to Tourin at Koushun’s request to meet with a scholar who had a request for her. That was why she was observing Shiki.

A hand pulling on his sleeve, huh…

She glanced at it and thought, indeed.

There was a white hand holding Shiki’s sleeve. It was a thin, pale woman’s hand. It was neither pulling hard nor gripping it. It was pinching the sleeve between its fingers forlornly. Only a glimpse of a pale yellow sleeve printed with a tiny flower pattern could be seen, and there was nothing beyond that. There was only a hand.

The rain finally let up and showed signs of stopping. Koushun opened his mouth.

“This person says that he can see a hand pulling on his sleeve…”

Jusetsu nodded. “It’s most likely a woman’s hand. She’s wearing a light-yellow upper garment with a pattern of small flowers.”

Shiki suddenly flinched. “You can see it?”

“Even now, it’s pulling on your sleeve. Reservedly.”

Shiki let out a breath. “I can only see it once in a while. It didn’t seem like anyone else could see it…”

He said that he thought that there was something wrong with his eyes because no one else could see it when he asked to confirm it.

“There are those I can see immediately, and those I can’t see no matter what. One might call it compatibility.”

She glanced at Shiki’s sleeve.

“The owner of that hand seems to be very worried about you. If that’s the case, then you must know this person. Someone close to you. And you know why they are worried about you, don’t you? I don’t believe there is much for me to do here.”

Shiki’s eyes widened. “You…can tell that much?”

“I can reveal the ghost with my arts, but is that necessary?”

No, Shiki shook his head. “That person’s sleeve and hand are both familiar to me. In particular, the hand…it is unmistakable. It’s Shoumei. She was my adopted younger sister.”

Adopted sister, Koushun murmured as though in confirmation.

“I only call her my sister, but we are not actually related by blood. I believe that you know that I was an orphan, and so was Shoumei. Orphans like us lived together. We wouldn’t have been able to survive otherwise.”

Shoumei was three years younger than Shiki, and was a helpless child in everything she did, so he took care of her and helped her as if she was his little sister.

“Shoumei also called me ‘Big Brother’ and loved me. In the town where we were born and raised, there was an old teacher who gathered the orphans and taught them how to read and write, and he was partial to me because I did well. Because of that, I was taken in by the current Reiko family. At that time, I asked if they would adopt Shoumei as well. It seemed that the couple wanted a daughter as well as an heir, so they decided to adopt us together.”

“You have good parents,” Koushun said, and Shiki smiled faintly. It was a nostalgic smile filled with affection. That alone made it clear how he thought of his adoptive parents.

“Yes, they are wonderful people. They weren’t well-off, but they said that it would be too pitiful if we were separated from each other. I can never repay my debt to them. And yet…I made them feel sorrow about Shoumei.”

Shiki’s eyes darkened.

“Shoumei married into a family in the neighboring town. There was a wealthy landowning family there, and both the husband and parents were very kind, so we were all overjoyed with such a good match. …It wasn’t until a few years later that something went wrong in the husband’s family. Perhaps their good nature was taken advantage of. They began to believe in the Moon Truth Sect, which was popular at the time. Only Shoumei rejected it. Apparently, they donated a lot of money to the sect… I heard that she reprimanded them many times, but her husband and in-laws didn’t listen to her. My sister would occasionally write to me, asking what should she do, but I was working in another province at the time and couldn’t return right away. I regret not leaving behind everything and going back home back then.”

Shiki furrowed his brows and seemed to be in great pain to say any more.

“…If it’s too painful to talk about, then you don’t have to talk about everything. Just a general outline will do.”

When Jusetsu said this, Shiki nodded slightly. After a moment of silence, he exhaled and continued.

“I still don’t know why her husband and his parents, who were so kind and good-natured, did such a thing. Is that what faith is? One day, Shoumei was encouraged by some men to join the Moon Truth Sect. It had happened many times before, but Shoumei refused each time. However, that wasn’t the only thing that happened that day. There was a quarrel, and eventually they became violent…in the end, Shoumei was beaten to death with sticks by them. I was later told that the men were yelling that by beating Shoumei with sticks, they were going to eradicate the evil things inside her. The men were quickly arrested and executed. By the time I returned, Shoumei was in a coffin, awaiting burial. They were waiting to bury her for my sake. Although it was difficult to tell because of the makeup applied to the dead, her body was covered in wounds. Her face too… That was months before the Moon Truth Sect was destroyed by riots.”

Shiki lowered his head.

“…It was about half a year after Shoumei died that I noticed this hand. The robe with the flower pattern was one I bought for her long ago, and it was her favorite. It wasn’t tailor-made from new materials, but secondhand, so it wasn’t anything much… But even if she wasn’t wearing that robe, I would recognize her immediately. When we were children, Shoumei would always hold onto my sleeve anxiously and follow me. Her way of gently and shyly holding onto my sleeve hadn’t changed at all. It’s like she’s alive, and there are times when I just wanted to grab her hand.”

Shiki smiled sadly.

“But, even though she was helpless and unreliable, Shoumei always seemed to be somewhat worried about me. I used to tell her to worry about herself before she worried about others, but…I guess she had that kind of temperament.”

“…So, are you saying that is why she is still pulling on your sleeve?”

Jusetsu asked, and Shiki lowered his head slightly.

“I suppose so,” he said, nodding as if trying to tell himself that. Jusetsu silently stared at his face.

“I wish to ask if it is possible to send Shoumei to paradise. If things remain this way, it would be too pitiful for Shoumei.”

“If Shoumei’s worries disappeared, she would soon be able to cross over to paradise without me having to do anything. You are the reason why Shoumei is kept here.”

And Shiki probably knows that reason.

Shiki didn’t want to talk about it, so Jusetsu didn’t know what it was.

Shiki hung his head and remained silent. Jusetsu glanced at his waist. There was an ornament hanging from his sash. It had been on her mind ever since they first met here. It was a white coral ornament.

The symbol of the Eight Truths Sect.

“…You said that you were the deputy inspector in Ga Province. Are you an Eight Truths believer?”

“No,” Shiki bluntly denied.

“Then why are you wearing that ornament? It’s the proof that you are a believer of the Eight Truths Sect.”

“This is—” Shiki touched the white coral ornament. “This is something I wear in order to investigate the Eight Truths and the Saname clan.”

“Shiki was poisoned while investigating the relationship between the Eight Truths and the Sanames in Ga Province,” Koushun cut in. Jusetsu glanced at him.

“There’s a possibility that I’m being let go on purpose. There are believers in the imperial palace as well. This is to deceive their eyes.”

There was an unpleasant feeling there, a sizzling sensation like skin being smoked. It was his wariness against the Eight Truths. Hakumyoushi was said to be the Great Sea Turtle God. Was this the same god that was worshipped in ancient times?

Gou-no-Kami is summoning me once more…

They had to be the same. Power had returned to an ancient god… And the Eight Truths, who worshipped that god.

She had a bad feeling about this.

“…You’re still investigating even now?”

“Pardon?”

“Even now, you’re still investigating the Eight Truths and the Saname clan?”

“Yes,” Shiki nodded as though it was natural. “The Eight Truths is something that must not be left alone. They would surely cause a disaster in the future. They must be destroyed.”

His voice felt dim and seemed to echo from the shadows. I see, so that’s where this man’s heart is, Jusetsu thought.

“Do you hate the Eight Truths?”

Shiki stared directly into her eyes. Dark flames dwelled in them.

“I heard that the Eight Truths Sect was derived from the Moon Truth Sect.”

She had heard that from Koushun. “Yes,” Shiki answered.

“…The person who recommended that Shoumei’s husband and in-laws join the Moom Truth Sect is currently the leader of Eight Truths. He is a man named Hakurai,” Shiki spat out the words, his expression unbefitting of his face. “He was the man who taught that people who are possessed with evil spirits can be cured by beating them with sticks.”

He despises that man.

Jusetsu averted her eyes from Shiki and stared at the white hand that was pulling on his sleeve. I think this is what Shoumei is worried about, she thought. She was worried about this hatred. She was worried about his burning hatred intensifying and turning into the beast called revenge and running wild.

Unless Shiki gave up his revenge and let go of his hatred, Shoumei couldn’t cross over to paradise. She couldn’t leave Shiki’s side. She continued to grab his sleeve and tried to hold him back.

Jusetsu looked at Koushun. He was expressionless as ever, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“In any case, there is nothing I can do. I can forcibly tear Shoumei away from you, but that is not the same as sending her to paradise. If you want her to go to Kakurenomiya and turn her into a soul that traverses the river of stars, then you will have to remove her worries.”

The souls of the dead were led to Kakurenomiya in the far eastern end of the sea. After a long time, the souls were swept away on the river that flowed from Kakurenomiya. The river was in the night sky. For the people of the sea, the sky wasn’t what laid above, but something stretched out in the sea. The river was a corridor that connected the sea of beyond to the sea. Souls turned into twinkling stars after flowing from there, and their lights fell onto the earth and became new lives. No one knew if a star would become a fish in the sea, a plant growing from the earth, or a human being.

Every time a star’s light falls to the ground, a life is born.

That was why people feared, respected, and yearned for starlight.

“The wind that blows from the distant sea sounds the flower whistle, and the starlight reminds us of the deceased. If you wish to quietly mourn her, then put Shoumei at ease.”

Shiki bit his lip and bowed his head. Then, slowly, he shook his head.

“I’m sorry. It seems…that I still can’t send Shoumei to paradise.”

Jusetsu frowned slightly. She looked at Koushun and saw him staring out the latticed window. The rain had stopped. Droplets of water were dripping from the leaves one by one outside the window.

Ei Sei made tea for Koushun, who had returned to the inner court. As steam rose from the kettle and the scent of tea filled the room, Koushun felt the tension from his shoulders to his back slowly loosening up. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Ei Sei scooped the boiled tea with a spoon and poured it into a cup. When Koushun accepted it, the scent of fragrant and refreshing tea wafted from the cup even more strongly. He took a sip and found that it was faintly sweet.

“Where did this tea come from?”

“Bu Province.”

“I see. It’s delicious. Your tea is the best, as always.”

“Thank you very much,” Ei Sei smiled a faint, proud smile.

Koushun asked while drinking tea, “How is the tracking of Hou Ichigyou coming along?”

“It doesn’t seem like he left the capital. We are continuing the search for him.”

Koushun nodded at Ei Sei’s reply. Hou Ichigyou was the person who brought Shougetsu to the capital and introduced him to Gyoei. His identity had come to light. He used to serve the previous dynasty as a sorcerer, and was also Ran Hyougetsu’s master. What kind of intentions did such a person have in sending Shougetsu to the inner palace? There were many things they needed to question him about. He must be taken into custody as soon as possible.

Koushun threw another question at him.

“Sei, what do you think of Shiki?”

It was common for the two of them to ask each other questions out of context. That was how it went with Ei Sei.

Ei Sei lowered his long, glossy eyelashes. “He seems dangerous,” he immediately replied.

“Is that so?”

“Dajia…you shouldn’t trust him too much.”

“Does it look like I trust him?”

Ei Sei closed his mouth, and Koushun peered at his expression. He stroked the rim of the teacup, which was painted with flowers and birds.

“…I am wondering what Chouyou is thinking.”

“The Saname…”

“I’ve only met that man three times, but he’s completely unreadable to me. If the Sanames are involved with the Eight Truths, and if they are plotting something no good, he wouldn’t do anything that would arouse suspicion. That’s an absolute fact. He wouldn’t fail to kill Shiki or let him slip through his hands. If Shiki was able to escape from Ga Province, that was because of Chouyou’s will.”

“——Does that mean Shiki is Saname’s pawn?”

No, Koushun put the cup back on the table. “I am not sure about that. Did he only let Shiki go, or did he send him here? Is there a connection between Chouyou and Shiki? What is the relationship between Chouyou and the Eight Truths…?”

Don’t rush. You’ll let him get away.

Koushun folded his hands in front of his body and closed his eyes slightly.

Saname Chouyou…

The head of the Saname clan whose real name was unknown. He wondered where his intentions laid.

“I’m concerned about the Ga Province silk merchants who have been coming and going from the Un estate lately.”

Koushun nodded slightly at Ei Sei’s words.

Tutor Un, don’t pretend to be stupid.

Everything is falling away from between my fingers… In the end, there is nothing left.

He couldn’t get those thoughts out of his mind.

Ei Sei burned incense for Koushun, who had closed his eyes. Clove incense, pipe vine incense, zensen incense (2)…there had always been a variety of incense used here, but recently he had been preferring to burn agarwood incense. That was the incense Jusetsu often used.

As the gentle fragrance filled the air, he felt as if he was in Yamei Palace. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

Jusetsu had told him that the deity worshipped by the Eight Truths was the ancient Sea Turtle God. He had sensed that something was stirring and reaching out to them. He wanted to know just what it was.

“What’s the matter?”

Koushun heard footsteps and opened his eyes. Standing beside Ei Sei was a serving eunuch with a tray in his hands. Ei Sei took the tray and placed it on the table.

“This is a gift from Gei Province that arrived the other day.”

“Ah…the large rare conch snell, was it?”

Ei Sei lifted the cloth over the tray. It held a conch shell as big as Koushun’s face. It had a deep, dark color that sparkled in rainbow colors depending on the angle one viewed it from. It was named the “Brilliant Raven Shell. It was believed that large conch snails were the messengers of the gods who created the Peripheral Mirages—the fog at the ends of the sea. What was more, this was a rare raven shell that sparkled in many colors. Because of this, it was presented to the emperor as a symbol of good omens. Apparently, it was picked up a local fisherman after it had washed up on the beach.

“It was a beach in Rouko, right? That’s Ishiha’s hometown. I heard all sorts of things are washed up there.”

Did even corpses wash up there?

He suddenly recalled the myth that this land was created from the corpse of a god who was chopped into pieces. It was said to be a god who was exiled from Kakurenomiya.

“A country born from death. Is ruling it as an emperor the same as turning a corpse into a throne?”

Koushun, who had the shell in his hand and was admiring its iridescent luster, suddenly felt that he heard a faint voice and looked around.

“Is something the matter?”

“Can’t you hear that voice?”

Ei Sei stopped his movements to listen carefully. “No, I don’t hear anything.”

Koushun gestured to the bewildered Ei Sei to stop talking. He could still hear it.

What was this? It was like a whisper, but it wasn’t a distant voice. It sounded from nearby. And yet it was far away.

“Summer King.”

Koushun startled. It was a familiar voice.

A voice that was neither low nor high. A sound like intense waves. This was…

“Shougetsu…no, the Owl?”

Koushun looked down at the shell in his hand. The voice is coming from here. Impossible.

“Summer King—would it better if I called you emperor? Your names are quite complicated.”

“What’s happening? Where are you talking from?”

“Dajia?” Ei Sei was flustered. “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t you hear him?”

Astonished, Koushun looked between Ei Sei and the shell.

“My voice can only be heard by those who wear my mark.”

“Your mark?”

“I injured you. That must have left a bruise.”

Koushun’s hand went to his arm. The scar he had received from the Owl had already disappeared, but the faint bruise that had appeared still remained. It was a brown bruise, shaped like an owl’s feather.

“I can’t move. I can’t even make tsukaibe anymore. All I can do now is send my voice elsewhere.” There was a sound like a sigh. “I’m in prison. I’m completely powerless here.”

“Prison?”

“I told you that interference was forbidden. Didn’t I say that? I don’t know. Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been punished and sent to the goal. That’s why I had this large conch snail act as my messenger.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t make tsukaibe.”

“This isn’t a tsukaibe. Conch snails can only perform simple things. Right now, it’s conveying my voice. The shell is in your hands, and the snail itself is drifting in the sea, relaying my voice. The trouble is that whether or not it reaches you depends on the tides.”

Koushun stared at the shell and frowned.

“Why exactly are you doing this? You can’t kill the Raven Consort with just your voice.”

The Owl’s goal was to kill the Raven Consort—and consequently, the Raven.

“Yes, I can’t kill her. But, once I get involved, I can’t stand just watching. I want to help the Raven.”

The Owl’s tone was aloof, but his desire sounded earnest.

“…But, you can’t do anything anymore, can you?”

“I can’t. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“What?” Koushun was astonished. “Are you telling me to kill the Raven Consort?”

“I’m not. I want you to help the Raven.”

“So, what—”

“You don’t want to kill the Raven Consort. I want to save the Raven. Even I don’t want to kill an innocent maiden. Didn’t I say that before as well? If that’s the case, think about it.”

“…About what?”

“A way to save the Raven without killing the Raven Consort.”

Koushun stared at the shell. The jet-black shell was glossy, and the rainbow sheen was like moonlight shimmering on the surface of a lake.

“There must be a way to save the Raven Consort as well. You want to help her, don’t you?”

He caught his breath faintly. Yes, he wanted to save Jusetsu from her suffering. That was what he wanted to do.

“…But, that…”

Wouldn’t that mean losing the Winter King?

The Raven was imprisoned within the Raven Consort, who was concealed within the inner palace, and that was how the Summer and Winter Kings were just barely kept in existence. If we free the Raven—what will happen? The Raven would probably not be who she used to be. This dynasty wasn’t an era where the Winter and Summer Kings stood side by side.

Chaos is inevitable.

Chaos caused war. Koushun closed his eyes and drooped his head, as though he could see visions of the war-torn land. There’s no way I could make such a choice.

The Owl continued to speak, not minding Koushun’s silence.

“You and I don’t have conflicting wishes. So think about it. Find a way to help both of them.”

“You can’t just…” Koushun pressed his hand against his forehead. “What can I think of and do about it that a god can’t?”

He heard a snort.

“God this, god that—you mortals were the ones who worship us as that on your own, but I don’t understand that concept. We may be able to do some of the things that you cannot do, but you can also do what we cannot. It’s not a bad thing to fear and respect those of a different race, but it’s a problem if you think they can do anything.”

“I didn’t think you could do anything, but…”

Koushun didn’t think they were talking about a mere difference in race.

“Can you mortals match the claws of a bear? Can you fight against the fangs of a wolf? I doubt you can. But, you have wisdom. That’s why you make tools to fight against beasts. That’s the difference between you and us. We have wisdom too, but it’s probably different from yours. After all, we never even dreamed that Koushou would do such a foolish act. Something that benefitted no one—no, it only benefitted one person: Ran Yuu. I don’t understand how you people think.”

Koushou. The first Raven Consort. She was the one who imprisoned the Raven within the Raven Consort.

“But that is precisely why you lot might be able to think of something. And the way to save the Raven is also…”

Was there such a way? If there was——

The Owl’s voice became distant. There was a faint sound like the tides receding. The voice cut off at that point. Silence returned to the room.

Koushun resisted the urge to throw the shell and placed it on the tray instead. He let out a deep sigh.

“…Dajia, is everything okay?”

Ei Sei, who had been holding his breath until then, asked him nervously.

“Ah…”

His body, which had been lightened by Ei Sei’s tea, became heavy again.

“Sorry, but could you give me another cup of tea? Lukewarm is fine.”

“Understood.”

Ei Sei, not looking bothered in the least, happily prepared the tea again. It must be a hassle. He started the fire, boiled the water, and boiled the tea. Koushun felt at ease as he watched him.

Even though the tea leaves were already roasted and ground, it took some skill to get just the right amount of boiled water and extract the flavor. Ei Sei had always been good at getting the hang of things no matter what. He was a clever person.

If he hadn’t been a eunuch, he would have made a good government official.

He had thoughts like that from time to time, but he never said it aloud. That was because it would only be nothing but degrading to Ei Sei to talk about something that was already beyond help.

“…You’ve improved so quickly in both tea and calligraphy as soon as you were taught.”

“Thank you very much. I truly enjoyed learning from you.”

“Is that so?”

“Until you rescued me, Dajia, I had nothing to hope for in my life,” The sound of boiling water resounded in the room. Ei Sei took salt from the salt rack and added it to the kettle. “I have no regrets about becoming a eunuch, because I would have been in a far worser situation if I had stayed where I was born.”

Ei Sei spoke as though he understood Koushun’s feelings. He was smiling. It was a beautiful smile.

“…”

Koushun, who knew what Ei Sei, who was more beautiful than anyone, had gone through after becoming a new eunuch chi’er, remained silent. It was difficult to imagine a far worser situation than that.

I heard he was born in the entertainment district.

He had never pried. That was because Ei Sei didn’t seem to want to be asked about it.

If I remember correctly, Jusetsu was also born in the entertainment district.

He heard snatches of her story some time ago. She had lived there before becoming a house slave, and her mother was a prostitute as well.

Koushun gazed at Ei Sei’s face as he sipped his tea. Although her features were different from his, Jusetsu was also beautiful. Her face somewhat gave off the same air as Ei Sei’s. They possessed beautiful faces, but also an air of coldness and indifference.

“…I have a feeling that you and Jusetsu will get along very well.”

Ei Sei nearly spilled the tea.

“S-Sometimes, Dajia, you remain silent for a long time, and then you suddenly say something out of the ordinary.”

Ei Sei looked as though he wanted to say, “Get along well? Absolutely not.” It was so funny that Koushun let out a laugh and thought to himself, I’ll say the same thing to Jusetsu next time.