Chapter 72 Fate
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Trash-san took my hand as if to give me courage. She did not like to touch a male too easily, so she must have done it on purpose to calm me.
”Please do not worry, Young Master,” she said. “I will keep your request.”
All I had asked was for everyone to come home safe.
Trash-san’s right arm was completely broken. The other arm looked just as bad, and some fingers were bent the wrong way. Blood ran from one eye, and her skin had burn scars like raised lines.
Sweat shone on her forehead, yet she still gave a relaxed smile.
How much must it hurt? I knew I could never bear it. I would already be screaming.
”Well, now we only need to go back,” she said.
Before we ran, the four of us gathered to finish our plans and care.
The oni (ogre) woman had lost all four limbs. Her shoulders were out of place, and both eyes were crushed.
Right now she lay under a big rock, passed out. Even if she woke, she would not escape soon.
It looked cruel, but it was not for revenge. There was simply no rope strong enough to hold her.
Still, she might hit herself with her own Psionic Power (mind power) or burn herself to death with her own fire. We could not be sure she was truly helpless.
”While I give Kaede-dono some medical treatment (healing care), we should hide,” Trash-san said. “Flatty, just keep them back. Only shoot enough so they do not rush us.”
”Yeah, got it,” Flatty said. “If I run out of shots, I’ll throw stones or anything I can.”
Trash-san led us into a gap in the large rock we had climbed before.
Things thrown from outside hit around us. Some were filth or rotten fish, but the rock hid us.
To the people around us, we were a strange group who could use Psionic Power. To be honest, they feared us more than we feared them.
If they pushed us too much, we might strike back, and they did not know how. So they held back.
In the fading afternoon light, I saw the town people shaking with fear as they tried hard to block our way.
This was bad.
Our gear was almost all gone. We all had bruises and broken bones and needed emergency help like a hospital. Even small monsters on the road home could beat us.
Kaede-san’s wounds were the worst.
Half her body was burned black, and the rest had deep burns down to the skin below.
”…It’s too much,” I whispered.
I could not hold back. Before I knew it, I was crying against her.
I set my sense channel so only Kaede-san could see me. I did not want Trash-san to notice.
But I was shaking so much that I was not sure if it worked.
”Oh my… Your Lordship need not cry for someone like me,” Kaede-san said softly.
”I don’t care. You are important to me,” I said.
I could not feel any soft warmth from her.
There was a bad smell like burning oil. It was not a smell a human should have.
My tears kept falling.
Mixed with the smell was a strange sweet scent.
It was the smell of death.
”Kaede-san, please don’t die,” I said. “Please… hold on a little more, until we go home.”
”Oh dear, your face will turn black from the soot,” she said.
”I don’t care.”
This was not good. Even a Psionic Power body had limits.
In this state, she would not last.
I did not want to think of her dying. Even the idea hurt too much.
Yet it was strange she was even able to move now.
Sometimes, a person near death had a short moment when they could act like normal. This seemed to be that moment.
”You are a good child, a good child,” she said.
”I’m not good. I always try so hard to think, but things only go the wrong way,” I said.
”Do not say that. Life is a mystery, you know… Even if it feels like only trouble, when you keep walking, you may find a path,” she whispered.
Kaede-san looked down at me with her one eye, warm and kind.
She spoke in a very small voice so no one else would hear, trying to comfort me.
She leaned against the rock, and when no one watched, she gently stroked my head for a while. Her hand felt like a burned wooden statue.
A little away, Trash-san was fixing her broken arm by force.
”Now, Kaede-dono,” Trash-san said. “Shall we all break through the path? Or should one of us draw them again…”
”Split,” Kaede-san said at once. “I will be the bait.”
She had no doubt. When on duty, she did not count her own life.
”But I think he will not allow it,” Trash-san said.
”Yes. I think so too,” Kaede-san answered.
This time, things were a little different. I heard firm will in Trash-san’s voice.
”Young Master wants us to return with no one else lost,” she said. “Even if we fail the task, we can still do one thing: do not hurt his heart.”
Her kindness almost hurt me.
Lives did have order of need. But I still wished to find a way for all of us to go home.
”If I may speak for your words, Young Master,” Trash-san said. “Kaede-dono, Young Master says he likes you. Please stay alive a little longer.”
She told Kaede-san what I had just told her, hoping to give her strength. If Kaede-san slept now, she might never wake.
”I no longer hold any hard feelings about your secret meeting with Young Master that day,” Trash-san said. “We are battle friends.”
”Your words mean much. You once asked me to join your Imperial Guards. I was thankful,” Kaede-san said.
”Then let us go home together,” Trash-san said.
”Yes,” Kaede-san said.
They spoke fast. We were surrounded, and if we stayed, we would be killed slowly.
In our state, even the town people’s poor weapons could end us.
”I will carry Kaede-dono,” Trash-san said. “We will call for help from the town and have them bring the best medical treatment (healing care) to the dungeon. Please hold on until then.”
”I understand,” Kaede-san said.
”One full day. The way back is faster. We must pass many guarded spots, but if we reach the strange ship, we can make it,” Trash-san said.
Kaede-san then looked at the one who had been crying quietly in the corner.
After the medical treatment, Natsume-san sat with her back to the rock and her face on her knees.
”Natsume,” Kaede-san said.
”…Go away,” Natsume-san muttered.
”Natsume, are you listening?” Kaede-san asked.
Natsume-san pushed her away with a cold voice.
”What? You ignored me before,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how much I care. You never think about me, Kaede-chan.”
”Natsume, you carry me. You are hurt the least,” Kaede-san said.
She spoke to Natsume-san without holding back.
That bold way was very like Kaede-san.
”Why? Were you lazy again?” Natsume-san shot back.
”No! Not this time! How can you say that after you even made me kill someone?” Natsume-san cried.
She was angry, but Kaede-san did not mind.
”Natsume, you always kill people. You just forget,” Kaede-san said.
”That’s a lie! I never killed anyone!” Natsume-san said.
”It is not a lie. You always felt pain. But you always stayed with me,” Kaede-san said.
Kaede-san’s whole body was burned, and her clothes were gone. One leg ended below the shin.
She looked like a talking body.
Natsume-san saw her again, and tears ran from her wide eyes.
Still, Kaede-san’s voice did not change. It was the same slow, flat voice as always.
Only recently had I noticed that her plain voice always held a warm care for Natsume-san.
They had been together for many tens of years.
”Natsume. I am sorry I made you worry so much,” Kaede-san said.
”No, it’s fine. It must have hurt… It must have been so hot. You’re hurt so badly…” Natsume-san whispered.
Her hand shook as she reached for Kaede-san, who looked like a corpse.
She gently stroked the burns.
But Kaede-san did not react. At first, I thought she only stayed quiet, but she did not move at all.
For a while, we did not notice her calm breathing had fully stopped.
”Kaede-chan? Kaede-chan…?” Natsume-san said, shaking her shoulder.
”Why…?” she whispered.
There was no reply. Kaede-san’s body lay loose, like someone taking a peaceful nap.
She had passed away.
I checked the list in my mind, and a line now crossed her name.
Even if I chose it, nothing happened.
I could not send out my mind to her. I felt I could do nothing. My Psionic Power (mind power) no longer saw her as someone to reach.
Her hand still rested on my head in the dark space behind the rock.
Her gentle eye looked at nothing, and time had stopped for her.
It was over.
Her time would never move again. Her body and her inside were both broken. Even her organs had fatal wounds.
Her end came as simply as a quiet breath.
”Kaede-chan? We were just talking… weren’t we?” Natsume-san said.
She covered her face with both hands.
Through her fingers came a broken cry that cut the heart.
”Kaede-chan… that’s not fair,” she said.
This time, she buried her face in her knees and cried. She could only bend forward and shake.
We could only stare in shock.
Kaede-san was gone. Her breathing had stopped, and her eyes were half-open.
My head felt slow.
The talk we had just shared played again and again in my mind. She still felt alive inside me.
It almost felt strange that if I spoke to her again, she would not answer.
”Young Master, I am deeply sorry. I was not strong enough,” Trash-san said.
”I’m fine,” I said.
Through my blurry sight, I saw Trash-san bow very low.
She was at my side before I knew.
Her face looked full of regret, but I could not tell. The sad rocky place around us and the dry gunshots in the distance felt far away.
Reality seemed far.
”You did your best, Trash-san. So this… cannot be helped,” I said.
The words came out, but I was not sure if I was really speaking.
No. This was too much. I had passed the point of being calm.
I could not hold this.
”I had planned to put my own Imperial Guards first,” I said.
I thought that if I made clear rules, I could protect my heart.
I thought I could handle it when the time came.
”But I’m glad the three of you are safe,” I said.
I was an adult. I was not a child who cried and begged everyone to live just because it was sad.
No… I was childish. But even if I was, I had tried to prepare.
People die. This world is like that.
”Kaede-san took on the spy job for me. Trash-san and Flatty-chan went with her, but I think they paid that debt now. It’s fine. We honored her spirit. So this chapter is done,” I said.
The Ichimatsu group were people who expected death.
There was no need to feel guilt. Their master had already thrown them away. That was the truth.
At least I gave these poor Imperial Guards a last chance to shine. Maybe one day, people would say a kind young man showed mercy to them, and it would be a small heroic tale.
”I’m very happy with it,” I said.
Yes, this was fine.
As a last moment for an Imperial Guard with no reward, it was not bad.
It all began because they worried for me. If I was pleased, that was enough.
Natsume-san lived, but there was nothing more we could do.
It was enough. If we made a grave for her, then as a woman of this world, Kaede-san should be content.
…No, wait. What was I saying?
”Well… thinking again, there was no real reason to stop the war. Kaede-san acted on her own,” I said.
My tongue grew heavy.
I no longer knew what I was saying. I was not sure if these were even my thoughts.
The feeling of Kaede-san’s hand on my head felt very heavy, and my chest felt full of metal.
”Besides… we fought the strongest Psionic Power user in this war and gained info. We got results… and if we trade one Psionic Power user for one, our town is still ahead…” I said.
I could not finish.
There was no point in feeling sad. Kaede-san would not have lived long anyway. No matter what I did, the end would be the same.
”So…”
My mouth felt too heavy.
But I had to accept reality.
”…So, you see,” I said.
I wanted to lay Kaede-san down so she could rest. But my body was weak, and I could not.
”Trash-san… so I was not wrong… right?” I said.
Kaede-san could not answer such words now.
My wet cheek felt strange.
No more lies. She was gone. Kaede-san was gone.”
”Kaede-san is gone…” I whispered.
My nose was blocked, and it was hard to breathe. How had it come to this?
Another death. Someone died because she was close to me. Kaede-san, who slept with me, who was kind to me.
I liked her. Even her bold jokes that other Imperial Guards laughed at, even the cold parts of her, even her light and cruel side—when I thought of her life, I could accept it.
After a while, I noticed Trash-san sitting beside me.
Her voice was calm as she spoke.
”As I said before, Young Master, a hard goal does not mean the path you chose was wrong.”
Even as she spoke, I could not lift my head.
At some point, our sense channel must have linked. When Kaede-san died, it must have switched from her to Trash-san.
”Please do not cry. She is happy. She fought for you, Young Master. For an Imperial Guard, to be held by a male in a lonely dungeon at the end is the best passing,” Trash-san said.
”That’s impossible for me to accept,” I said.
I could not say she did well for fighting for me. I would rather she had run back, shaking with fear in the corner of a room beside me.
I did not care if that ruined her brave resolve.
I was not strong enough. Even one death overflowed inside me.
”I’m just a normal person who happened to be male. I can’t take this anymore.”
”Young Master… please do not speak down about yourself. It is because you are like this that we choose to serve you,” Trash-san said.
Her words were warm.
I knew I did not deserve people like the Imperial Guards to give me their all. I could thank them, but I never learned the cold ruler’s way of counting human beings like numbers.
I did not have the natural pride of the males of this world.
At some moment, I felt Trash-san wipe my tears with her fingers.
It was so gentle that for a heartbeat I thought Kaede-san had returned to comfort me.
”Trash-san…”
”You care more for life than anyone. Usually, an Imperial Guard has no reason to give her life to such a male,” she said.
Her voice was soft but sure.
”A male who even worries for a useless woman and carries so much pain for her… Young Master, you may not know how much hope that gives us,” she said.
Her face looked sad and full of feeling.
But I did not want to understand. Women always suffered for men.
So many ended without reward.
”Young Master may be angry if I say this,” she went on. “But I wish I could reach my end like this too.”
Trash-san looked at Kaede-san’s still body.
”Like this… is fine?” I asked.
”Yes. To be loved by Young Master, and watched over at the end. It is a presumptuous act to say so, but…”
I… I could not wish for anyone to die in such pain for me.
No matter what words dressed it up, her body looked too sad. Burned, changed, almost nothing of her left.
As another woman in our Exploration Squad, Trash-san tried to forgive me in Kaede-san’s place. Maybe it was pride, maybe kindness. I did not know what was right.
I was simply grateful Trash-san was alive in front of me.
Then, suddenly, I understood.
My Psionic Power (mind power) was born for this.
Deep in the dungeon, women risk their lives again and again. They die alone, with no one knowing.
My power was made so they would not die alone.
A face came to my mind.
An Imperial Guard of mine, left behind on purpose, fading in fire and smoke.
I ran and left her. She burned in red flame, alone, while I escaped. I never knew her last moments.
The regret of not seeing her end became this wish. My power was born not from hope, but from sorrow.
That day, I swore no one would die alone again.
In this world, life is cheap. People tell you not to worry about a woman’s death. A woman’s sacrifice is seen as normal.
But I could not accept that.
My Psionic Power crossed any distance or barrier to stay beside a woman I had bonded with at her end.
It could not save, could not change reality, but stayed beside her until the last moment.
That was my strange power. It could only comfort a heart, and no one could stop it.
It was only to stand with women.
To keep their last moments alive in memory. That was the true form of my Psionic Power.
”…I see. So that’s what my Psionic Power was,” I said.
Useless, and only to comfort the heart.
Now I knew why it did nothing to the world outside.
It was not for others or the big world. It was only to stay close to someone dear.
If I had not followed Kaede-san, I would never have known her last moments.
I would not even have been sad like this.
It helped no one. It was only between two people.
”I came, so this happened… but because I came, there was something saved too,” I said.
I did not feel happy.
Kaede-san’s head fell forward, and I held it with my hand. My Psionic Power was gone now, and her neck held firm.
I thought Kaede-san gained something too.
I had interfered in their mission from the start.
I had pulled them into trouble, but I also brought light into a life with no hope. I could not deny that joy.
When I remembered that, I found a little strength to face forward.
”I’m sorry, Trash-san. This is not the time to sit and cry. And… I meant it when I said I was satisfied. Let’s get ready to run,” I said.
We could cry later.
If we stayed, we would all follow Kaede-san.
At that moment, a loud crash sounded nearby.
A woman fell from the sky.
Her metal geta (metal sandals) smashed part of the piled rocks. She wore a kimono and held a red oiled umbrella. Her body was not large, but the strength of her landing broke the ground.
Dust and reddish dirt rose into the air.
The woman with the red umbrella pressed both feet down, grinding the rocks as if to crush what lay under them. It had been a terrifying fall, yet she showed no sign of a twisted ankle.
She must also be a Psionic Power (mind power) user.
”Yotto… Wait, you reached black oni?” she said.
Her cool, narrow eyes opened wide with surprise.
She seemed calm. She was not one of the strange types from Isumi town (small town), but she had a quiet, strong core.
”Ow… that hurt,” she said.
Through the smoke, rocks fell with a loud crash. Blood burst out, and a shadow with horns rising from its forehead stood up.
At last, I heard a voice I knew—the oni woman.
A body lay at her feet.
Wrapped in dark blood, a white oni girl rose, her hair and body pure white.
Even her horns were white, shining a little in the dim place like soft moonlight. She looked too beautiful for such a scene.
”Ahh, much better. I couldn’t breathe, crushed like that. Really now… could you not wake me more nicely?” she complained.
From the broken body of the black oni, the girl we knew had revived as a white oni.
Her hair at her shoulders, fine like silk, swayed as she spoke. Little fangs showed as she pouted.
The white oni brushed off small stones and dust with both hands.
Her white fingers, tipped with sharp nails, cracked as she curled them.
Her body was fully healed. Her mind was clear. All those wounds we gave her were gone.
All of it healed in a moment.
”You let your guard down. How many times have you died today already?” she said.
”I did not. Their guns are dangerous. If Neko-san is hit, she will die, so stay back,” the white oni said.
She stood in front of her ally, ready to shield her.
Her face was full of anger and hate as she glared at us.
The woman with the umbrella narrowed her cool eyes and studied us, step by step.
”Hm. You do not look like you can fight back,” she said.
”Do not think so lightly. They are weak, but stubborn. They killed one more after that,” the white oni said.
”…I see.”
When she said that, the air grew colder.
She knew we could not escape now, yet she did not look away from us as she spoke.
We were back at the start point.
No—worse. We had to escape from two fresh Psionic Power users while we were hurt and empty-handed. It was close to the worst case.
”Neko-san, you were slow. What took you?” the white oni asked.
”You ran ahead, foolish girl. I blocked all doors to the surface nearby. I had to call people, check things, and the town people begged us. They want more than killing. They want payback,” the umbrella woman said.
Cold fear ran through me.
Beside me, the warm body was gone.
Trash-san rose unsteady to face them, moving to create space.
She, Flatty-chan, and Natsume-san could not fight.
Only one charged capsule remained with Flatty-chan. It was ready to use now that it cooled, but that was all. No other gear.
Trash-san’s gun had been merged and lost, and Natsume-san’s last bullet had been used in the powered shot.
Natsume-san, who had just recovered a little, now sat again, broken after Kaede-san’s death. Her heart seemed shattered. Maybe she even wished to end it quickly.
Trash-san pulled me behind her.
There was no need, but maybe it was instinct, wanting to keep danger away from me.
”We met two in the cleavage. So the last one went to call the town for support,” Trash-san whispered to me. She meant the umbrella woman.
What should we do?
While the white oni fought us, the umbrella woman had been setting a trap around us.
”Hello. You fought well,” the umbrella woman said as she walked toward us.
She looked around twenty. Not a girl, but a very young woman.
”To be sure, I want to ask a few things,” she said.
”We do not. Just kill us. Or will you let us go if we answer?” Trash-san said.
No, I thought. Please don’t.
Even now, Trash-san would not lose her bold tone.
She gave a thin smile and now held Natsume-san’s dropped gun. It had no bullets. It was only a bluff.
The enemy did not smile back. Her anger was quiet, sunk deep under a cold face.
”A funny joke. If you answer, I can at least offer smoke and wine,” she said.
She meant as a last treat before death.
As the tension rose, she waved the nearby crowd closer.
From among the town people watching from afar, several young women stepped forward. Soon many women had formed a ring around us so we could not run.
They wore rough brown coats, poor head covers, and broken chain mail. They were not Imperial Guards—just town people.
The umbrella woman pointed at us and asked the women,
”These are the ones, right?”
One young woman looked us over, then stared at Natsume-san.
”Yes, the clothes match. I do not know the other two, but the small girl crying there was with them last time,” she said.
She pointed at Natsume-san with her gun.
”She is one of the ones who killed my sister.”
Right after she spoke, a shot rang out from the crowd.
”…That hurts,” Natsume-san gasped.
White smoke rose between the women.
The shot hit Natsume-san. It did not pass through, but sank into her skin. A thin line of blood ran down.
Her Psionic Power was weaker than the others in Ichimatsu group.
”Do not shoot on your own. Do not kill yet. Thank you, now stand back,” the umbrella woman said.
The town woman stepped back. The one who fired was held down by her friends, and the place went quiet again.
Maybe she had lost family to Kaede-san’s team.
I wanted to run. If we used the charged shot to hit both Psionic Power users and split in three, someone might live.
Getting all out together was now only a dream.
But the white oni watched us without blinking. The moment we moved to attack, she would jump.
Trash-san stayed calm and kept studying them in the thick, burning air.
Their cold gaze met ours, and the first question began.
”One: Is your master watching right now?” the umbrella woman asked.
My heart jumped, and I looked at her.
But her eyes were not on me. No one could see my mind form. I had no heat, no scent, no weight.
Even light passed through me. It was impossible for anyone to detect me.
”I don’t know what you mean,” Trash-san said.
”No need to pretend. We heard you speaking strangely at times. You’re linked with a male, aren’t you? Is it mind talk or far-sight Psionic Power?”
”Well, who knows…” Trash-san said.
”How handy. Is that why you were chosen as the rat?” the woman asked.
She thought my Psionic Power belonged to one of the three women. No one believed a male could have such power.
The white oni girl cut in:
”Psionic Power users from Kujukuri are all like that. Communication, sensors… machine-like useless powers. Tools for fools who never starve.”
Trash-san ignored her.
She deeply despised that oni woman for her unfaithfulness.
”Two: Your master’s name?” the umbrella woman asked.
”You’re very obsessed with that. Males are noble. They have nothing to do with our fight,” Trash-san said.
”I’m not so sure. If a male has the courage to step onto the battlefield himself, I would love to offer my thanks,” the woman said.
It felt like something grabbed my heart.
In the last exploration, Ichimatsu group had drowned many town people in blood. The girl earlier was one of the family. Their families were here too.
They must think it was my command.
”Thanks? Do not be full of yourself. You are not worthy of seeing him,” Trash-san snapped.
She was furious at anyone reaching toward me.
”My, how scary. By the way, are you close with your master?”
”…Not as close as you and that oni woman are. How touching that you cheat together,” Trash-san replied.
”Too bad. If you won’t answer kindly, I will get my own answer,” the umbrella woman said.
Trash-san knew what she was after. She would protect my secret.
They could not see my mind form—yet it felt like they saw me.
I remembered what Trash-san told me before:
Males are safe because they stay far from war.
But what if a male joined war and strategies, and could not be stopped? What would enemy women think of that?
Because Trash-san refused, the air grew even colder.
The time for talking was ending.
The umbrella woman’s eyes moved behind me.
Cold. Cruel.
”…And you? Will you tell me about your master?” she asked.
Flatty-chan held her gun, shaking hard. She stared at the woman and the white oni.
She saw what would come. In minutes, the number of living here would change.
Flatty-chan was not strong enough to act bold.
But her answer was clear.
”Shut up… D-Die. Don’t touch my Young Master,” she said.
Flatty-chan did not sell me.
Her gun lit with energy.
A white blur crossed in front of me.
A Psionic Power punch slammed Flatty-chan to the ground.
Blood spilled from her head, and her gun snapped in two.
She never had time to react. Blood poured like a nightmare.
Her eyes faded.
”Young Master… can you hear me?” she whispered.
Town women rushed in and bound her with iron chains.
Her cheek was crushed against the ground.
”That light gun earlier… well, it doesn’t have a name. Without the Psionic Power I got from Young Master, it wouldn’t exist,” she said.
Tears fell from her eyes.
Not pain—fear.
She was losing consciousness, yet terrified of what would come.
”When I mix mystical objects together… hih… hi-hi…”
Her teeth chattered. She spoke like praying for help.
But I could not answer. She was not one of my targets. I could not reach her.
”I secretly thought it was like our child… Young Master… Is that gross? P-Please don’t hate me…” she cried.
She laughed and cried at once, twisted by fear.
”Ah… ahaha… Please… at least knock me out first…”
The town people wrapped her in chains and dragged her.
”Please… Kill me after I faint…”
Her voice faded as she was taken behind the rocks.
Dozens waited there, holding iron hoes and sickles.
Trash-san’s end was faster.
Her arm broken, body shocked with electricity, the gun useless.
Trash-san tried to lift the empty gun, but the umbrella user threw her down with ease.
Her broken arm hit the ground, and she twisted in pain.
”Gh… cu…!” she gasped.
The umbrella opened.
Darkness spread over her face.
Trash-san looked at me.
”…Young Master, no excuses. But please… do not watch what comes next,” she said.
Maybe it was a Psionic Power effect, but her face started to fade of life. She did not scream—maybe to spare me.
”I was happy. I wish you long, peaceful days,” she said.
And then she stopped moving.
There was no more escape.
Even if alive, a failed spy would be tortured, forced to speak, then thrown away.
In this age, no rules protected prisoners. And we had done nothing to earn mercy.
Women’s lives were cheap.
We had forced that cost onto enemies many times.
Trash-san had been kind to me.
It was my first time feeling this.
Right before she fainted, she rejected me strongly—pushed me away from her mind connection. She truly did not want me by her side for what would happen.
Her strong denial poured into me, unstoppable.
Notes:
• Psionic Power – Mental energy concept in Chapter 35’s lecture. Trash-san teaches it to strengthen the protagonist’s mind after dungeon ordeals.
• Kaede – A female psionic explorer known as Necksplitter, is a veteran assassin and messenger of Lord Ichimatsu. Her appearance is both young and old, with gray hair streaked through black and vibrant, unlined skin. She is graceful yet carries the fatigue of a long life in war, resembling an old hunting dog. Her psionic ability is mysterious and potentially dangerous.
• Natsume – A female companion and younger sister of Kaede-san, cared for by Kaede-san during their journey through the dangerous valley, at risk of infection from the parasitic creatures.
• Ichimatsu – A high-ranking figure associated with the Imperial Guard, mentioned as having spineless guards around him, with no further details provided.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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