Chapter 92 Hope
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A strange feeling stayed with me as we walked.
On the way to the home of the Three, we passed a hill where red and black butterflies floated in the air. Flower petals danced like they were in a pretty show, yet they clearly avoided Flatty-chan and me. A silly, fairy-tale idea came to mind: maybe they did not like us because we were outsiders.
Farther on, by the river, small children who had not reached adulthood yet picked yam shoots and round green onions. Little girls with runny noses ran around and laughed. It should have been a sweet sight, but it made me uneasy. It felt a bit like a fake picture of happy life. I did not know why I felt that way.
Maybe it was just in my head, but I wanted to keep that small warning in my heart.
”Young Master, I need to speak with you about that matter,” Flatty-chan whispered.
As we walked, she secretly explained my task. It was about a rescue. There was something only I could do, and if I did it, it would help the rescue team a lot.
It did not matter that people were around us. Important people had a proper way to share secrets. You covered your mouth with a fan and spoke quietly to the Imperial Guard. Others must not listen. Asking about the topic was never allowed. Boys had their own rules.
Thanks to that, we could talk about the secret without worry.
”I am sorry to trouble you,” she said softly. “If I do it, people will think it is strange. So I ask you instead.”
”It sounds like some freedom mission,” I murmured.
She heard my whisper and froze a little. The job did not seem helpful for a rescue at all, yet her face was very serious.
”Yes, it is a mission,” she said. “Please build a small holiday house. We came to a place full of nature. Let it look like a fun craft project.”
”A game… I guess it could look like that.”
My task was to borrow materials and tools here and make something simple.
We were watched day and night from afar under the name of bodyguards. Strange actions would look bad. But there was no real problem, as I only needed to use scrap wood and a hammer to build a tiny, odd-looking shed. No special skill or mystical object was needed.
My energy was a bit too high for such a simple job.
”What is the point of this? And I don’t even know how to build it,” I said.
”I wrote a plan with sizes and steps. But the sizes do not need to be exact,” she answered.
Her instructions were quite loose.
So I had to act fast, look like I was having fun, and study ‘freedom’ at the same time. When she opened the plan on her knees, it really felt like summer homework.
Also, I could get help from the people of Isumi town, so it was not even really my own assignment. I only needed to finish a small chicken house about the size of a portable toilet with two sliding doors.
There was only one thing to do.
I went to the front of the group and called to Himawari.
”Himawari, please give me some land. I want to build a secret base.”
”…What?” she said, confused.
I explained my request in a simple way. I pushed the whole assignment onto her.
As expected, she stared at me like she did not understand. She did not need to worry. I did not understand either.
”What even is that?” Himawari asked.
”This place looks nice, so I want it for my small house. I want to build this shed,” I said, handing her the plan from Flatty-chan with a casual reason.
Himawari’s nose lifted a little. She tried to hide her childlike joy at having her hometown praised.
”Wow, boys think of funny things. Fine,” she said.
”Please follow the plan,” I added.
She looked at the simple drawing and thought for a moment.
”If you want a second home, I could have a proper hut built for you. It will take time, but still. Is this tiny grass hut enough?”
”I want the one I planned. Don’t change it,” I said.
”Alright, alright. I see what this is. I’ll have the town people do it later,” she said.
”Not later. Now. It’s daytime. Make it fast,” I told her.
”Yes, yes.”
So I got the land. One tsubo of land, given for free just like that. As expected from the top authority in town.
If I acted like a real child and made a selfish wish, people listened—at least a little.
Himawari and the others looked unsure, but they accepted it as a young male’s sudden whim.
In the center of the town, there was a small forest of tall conifer trees, about three hundred meters around. The trees stood close, like a dark wall.
The entrance looked like a mystery place where fairies might live. The curved tree trunks made a big arch like a gate, as if it led into a picture book world.
”The Three live here,” Himawari said. “They almost never go outside. Normally, no one may come close, but today is special.”
”They live in the forest all the time?” I asked.
”Yes. Only their attendants and maids go in and out. This is a no-enter area for town people. It is a sanctuary for males.”
Maybe this came from old forest faith. On the surface, it was common to let males live in places linked to gods or faith. This wild forest seemed to be the male area of this town.
We stepped inside together.
”Oh… it is like a normal home inside,” I said.
Wooden floors and sliding doors were set between the trees. There were furnishings, and it looked like a house. It was not a single building, but the forest itself formed a home with many open spaces.
The tree canopy worked as a roof. There were gaps, but it never rained here, and the trees did not drop leaves, so it worked fine. Screens and tree trunks made small rooms, yet when you looked up, you saw the blue sky. It felt a bit like an illusion, like a secret place for small folk or a witch.
I heard the forest had been smaller when the floor was first found, but it grew a little each time more people moved here.
A few female attendants welcomed us. One of them had a psionic power to read hearts. Because of her, young women like Himawari, who lacked skill in caring for males, could still look after their masters.
Normally, without help from older women or noble families with long experience, no one could support three males. Males were very delicate, and caring for them without the knowledge passed down in noble families was very hard. Keeping a male healthy in body and mind alone was hard. If he was also asked to share a bed at night, the difficulty rose at once. It needed the skill of an expert, like a keeper caring for a rare animal in a zoo. Here, they somehow managed by using heart-reading to guess needs before trouble grew.
”Welcome. I thank you for your help, though I am ashamed it was needed,” the woman with the reading power said. She bowed low in front of a large screen.
Himawari answered with a kind, gentle tone.
”No, I know you work very hard. I hope this becomes a good chance for their health,” she said.
”You speak too well of me. I only wish they may recover soon,” the woman replied.
Their short talk did not sound happy. They kept a polite distance and quiet voices before entering the room, careful not to be rude to me.
”How are the Three?” Himawari asked.
”Sadly, there is still no change. But they are very happy that a new town person has come,” the woman said.
”You carry a heavy load. Today, I bring a special guest,” Himawari said, giving me a small look.
It seemed she was not very involved in caring for her own master. She was busy with war and leading the town. Also, he had stopped speaking with her lately, and she had asked me to find out why.
”I see… so it is as I thought,” the woman whispered and sent a shy look at me.
The name they used for her sounded strange to me.
”Is that noble person over there the one you mean?” she asked.
”Yes. He said he is not scared of me. That is the kind of person he is,” Himawari said as she introduced me.
This was bad.
If she used her psionic heart-reading power, she would touch many secrets I must never show.
Her soft smile scared me. Attendants of Imperial Guard nobles were always graceful and calm. What was she thinking behind that still surface?
I quickly hid behind Flatty-chan. Her wide hips blocked the woman’s eyes well.
”Young Master?” Flatty-chan said, surprised by my sudden move. She did not show it on her face, but her eyes told me she felt this was trouble.
Oh no. This might look even worse.
Yes, it was a big problem if my past or powers were found out. But in truth, the real danger was that the woman might read Flatty-chan’s thoughts. She knew the rescue plans and what was happening in Kujukuri Town. If someone saw her mind, the truth would spread.
I had no choice. I had to act like a wall for her.
But thinking that already gave away that Flatty-chan held the true secrets. I was trapped. If both of us had our minds read, it would be over.
”My name is Enme,” the woman said. “Please allow me to guide you to the waiting room.”
Her gentle smile did not break. She stood with the calm beauty of an attendant, and it made me feel cold inside, as if she already saw through us.
Then Flatty-chan touched my back and whispered, “Young Master, the contract.”
What did she mean? I turned the word over in my head.
Contract… contract… Which one was linked to me?
After swimming in thought for a while, I finally understood. She meant the blood contract.
”What are you doing? Are you scared of Enme?” Himawari asked. She was puzzled by my strange behavior.
”No. I have a secret blood contract with the Dragon God. If my heart is read, the attendant might be attacked,” I said.
”The blood contract? The one used for peace deals in the great war?” she asked.
”Yes. If you break it, you die,” I said with a nod.
I told them the short story of the contract I made that day with Kaede and Ichimatsu. It was not a rare mystical object for the high class; they all knew about it.
”I must not leak the contents to anyone. And if the Dragon God comes, even you cannot win, right, Himawari?” I added.
”Well… even a hundred of me could not. I cannot believe you made such a thing,” she said.
By saying this first, no one could try to pull secrets from me. If someone forced a contract holder to break the deal, no matter how, the one who pushed would face the punishment. The Dragon God was selfish, but if someone tried to ruin a contract on purpose, even a third party would be punished. That was why the mystical item was so costly.
Himawari’s eyes moved to Flatty-chan for proof. Flatty-chan lied with ease.
”It is true. The Young Master and I made a secret-keep blood contract. If that woman uses her psionic power carelessly, she may die,” she said.
She pulled herself into the story smoothly. She was not part of the contract, but no one could check that without reading her mind.
Flatty-chan was truly dependable when it mattered.
Himawari looked offended.
”How rude. Enme would never walk into someone’s heart with dirty shoes. And a male, at that. She is not that bold,” she said.
”Still, she might feel tempted. No woman can fully ignore what a male thinks of her. We must avoid sad mistakes,” Flatty-chan said firmly.
Himawari sighed.
”Well… that is true,” she said.
She accepted it.
The blood contract had become a shield against mind-reading. I was lucky, but I had never thought it could help in this way.
Through this, Himawari kept watching Enme with a soft, sorry look. “She has worried ever since she got her psionic power,” Himawari told me softly. “People avoid her now. Please do not fear her. It would make her happy.”
She said it to me.
”Well… okay. I get it. I wasn’t avoiding her because I dislike her,” I said.
I stepped out from behind Flatty-chan at last.
Himawari was kind to those close to her. A power that read hearts could make others uneasy. Enme seemed young, and she might have gained her power only recently, still trying to learn how to live with it.
We were taken to a small waiting area before the room where the males stayed.
We waited around ten minutes. They were surely ready, but the guest was meant to wait a little. It was a noble act to show that the males had the higher place, or maybe it was only for show.
It was very different from Shigerou, who had run all the way outside to find us and then saw us off at the entrance. That had been too strange to be proper.
While we sat, I thanked Flatty-chan.
”Flatty-chan, thank you for helping me. You saved me,” I said.
”You did not need to worry that much,” she replied.
”Really?”
”Yes. That psionic power is very limited in when it works.”
She did not seem tense. She had not seen the moment as a near disaster.
”I never knew someone could read minds,” I said.
I looked up at her as she stood beside me. In the small room, she already seemed busy enough just trying not to bite her tongue.
”There are a few users,” she said. “People often wish to know others’ hearts.”
”That’s true. I think everyone wants that power at least once,” I said.
Psionic powers came from human wishes, so most things people wanted to do could become a power. I had often wished to know someone’s true heart.
”This region has many strange things that touch the heart, so this power shows up here more. To be honest, it is not a very lucky one,” she said.
”Oh? It sounded useful,” I said.
”It is hard to use well,” she answered.
She then gave a few examples. There were many kinds of mind-reading powers.
”Weak ones only feel emotion. Stronger ones can read thoughts or memories if the steps are done right. But the stronger the power, the stricter the rules. Almost no one can see everything by just meeting someone’s eyes.”
So there were many limits.
When I waited, she explained more.
”All psionic powers need a trigger,” she said.
”A trigger?”
”Yes. A small link between hearts, like… hm.” She counted on her fingers. “If someone answers your greeting. If you help them and they thank you. If there is body contact. To read your thoughts now, she would need trust, explain her power first, and get your agreement.”
The rules for reading live thoughts were very strict.
So she could not read a heart without consent. Then she would only use it on people she already had a good bond with. That made it almost pointless for spying.
It felt a bit useless—until I understood. It was the same kind as my own power.
It was not for playing with others’ hearts or changing partners for fun. It was not to break open the heart, but to deepen the link with someone dear.
It came from a gentle wish to understand the feelings of someone close.
”If you are worried, keep your heart closed,” she said.
”How do I do that?”
”Do not answer if she speaks. Pretend she is a ghost. No reaction,” Flatty-chan said.
So if I ignored everything, the power could not touch me. But it felt like bullying.
We were called from the room.
We stopped our talk and stood.
”Let’s go. You will come with me, right, Flatty-chan?” I asked.
”Y-yes. But I must not speak from here. It should be a short greeting, but please be careful,” she whispered.
I was more worried about her. She was already tense. Could she handle a room with four males? When she panicked, she acted strange. It seemed fitting for a master and guard like us.
We were led into a large space with carpet. Past that was an inner room filled with many pieces of furniture.
Tall trees stood around us, and long cloths hung from branches like curtains. Many layers crossed, acting as both cover and decoration. The whole place looked like a giant princess bed with a canopy.
Under a silk rainbow glow stood three beds in a row. Curtains hung down over the left and right ones, hiding the inside. The center bed had its net pulled open and tied to four posts so we could see.
This was not a guest room.
It was a bedroom full of frills and cushions, a place for a queen to rest.
It was cute, but it did not seem right for welcoming me. It was the private inner room where they lived, not a room for guests.
But I soon understood why.
A young male in his twenties lay on the center bed. He was thin and weak-looking, with a pale face far from healthy. His head rested on the pillow as he stared without focus, his eyes empty as he looked at us.
This was a sickroom.
I froze.
Himawari’s master was too weak to stand.
”Um… are you sure it’s okay for us to enter?” I asked.
Three nobles sharing one room and lying side by side—it was strange.
From what I heard, the Three had loved living here so much that they never went back to town, enjoying bright, rich days in this ideal place. But the man lying there had no sign of that bright life. I could not see a clear illness, yet he looked like someone who had lost hope.
Had he already been tired of life on the surface before coming here? Maybe he hated Isumi Town so much that he fell into a mental sickness, and now he was trying to heal.
Still, I wondered if he could really serve his nightly duty in this state.
I held back the urge to question Himawari.
”…Oh no,” I heard.
As expected, Flatty-chan felt pain in her heart. She watched the weak man being helped up by Enme with a sad face. Even if he was someone else’s master, a male was more precious than life to a woman. No woman could see this and not want to help.
For an Imperial Guard trained to care for males, that feeling was even stronger. I did not think she was wrong.
”Please sit here,” Enme said.
She offered me a seat. It was not a formal tea seat, but like a chair set for a visitor in a hospital. I sat at a high chair near a low table, far from the bed.
Enme bowed to me.
”We apologize for not being able to greet you properly. He asks for your kind understanding,” she said.
”It’s fine. I see he isn’t well enough to leave the bed. I offer my visit,” I said.
”We thank you for your kindness,” she replied, bowing even deeper.
She stayed bowed for a long time.
Then she leaned close to the man’s mouth, holding his hand, listening for his quiet voice.
”Please allow me to speak in his place, as his body cannot,” she said.
He did not have the strength to speak, so she would read and relay his thoughts. He was awake, though. When I looked, I could feel his will in his eyes.
Soft breathing came from the other two beds. They seemed to be asleep behind their curtains.
”Be careful not to read my secret by mistake while greeting me. If you do, you really might die,” I warned again.
If she read my mind on purpose, the Dragon God would appear at once with no one-month grace. There was no promise that people here would be safe.
After we all agreed, the meeting began.
Once we spoke a little, I found the man proud, but still an ordinary person.
He was from a branch of Himawari’s noble family. He had married the eldest daughter of that branch. He disliked Isumi Town and its people, but he loved this floor.
”I think this is a very beautiful place. The weather is calm, no scary monsters, and there is plenty of food,” I said.
”He asks if this is better than your home,” Enme relayed.
”My home? If so, then yes, this place is better than Kujukuri Town—at least for nature. Kujukuri only has empty rooms with air control,” I answered.
”He is very pleased to hear that,” she said.
He looked happy with such a simple comment. No wonder—he had left everything to live here.
It truly was a good place. I did not like that there were no seasons, no rain, and little change because it was far from the surface. But I kept those thoughts to myself.
”He says, if that is so, Your Lordship should move your town here one day. He only jokes,” Enme said.
”Maybe I will, someday, if I get the chance. But it won’t be my choice, and it would mean running away,” I said, playing along.
While we talked, Himawari watched with a sad look. She cared deeply for her master. She could only see him on rare days like this, because it tired him.
Then came a long line of slow bragging.
I soon understood why I had been called. They wanted to cheer him up. Talking with me was meant to help his heart recover, even a little. Males needed praise and envy from other males to keep their balance.
My humble talk was food for his heart.
”He enjoyed this time very much. He asks you to visit again. And as a sign of welcome, he will grant you one wish,” Enme said.
”Thank you. I’m happy to hear that,” I replied.
The quiet visit ended.
Flattery worked well here. In this world, males loved praise from other males, maybe because no one liked to praise others.
Still, I did not think he would offer to grant a wish.
”Hm,” I said as I thought. If I had the chance, I wanted to lift the veil on this odd room.
This bedroom felt strange. It did not match the good stories I had heard about how well they lived here.
It was not that they loved this place. They simply did not want to return to town.
”Then, may I greet the other two as well? I would like to see their faces,” I asked.
I wished to open the curtains of the other two beds.
If there were men inside, good. If not, then we would learn something else. If they were lying like plants, then this place was truly eerie.
”Of course. I will ask,” Enme said.
”Sorry to trouble you,” I said.
”Not at all. We thank you for your kindness,” she replied.
Enme stepped into each curtained bed.
To my surprise, permission came quickly.
When she opened the curtains, the two men looked at me, just as weak and empty. One seemed in his forties, the other older. They looked like normal people for their age.
I was told not to go too close, so I only exchanged a few looks and a short greeting through Enme.
After that, we left the bedroom.
Once we stepped out of the forest house, Himawari rushed in front of me, full of energy. The sad air from before had vanished.
Her whole body shone with joy.
”You helped us so much! Thank you! Lord Sugaya looked so happy while talking! Oh, I wish I could have watched longer,” she said.
”I’m glad. I enjoyed talking too,” I replied.
I offered polite words. It was probably the first time in years he had boasted to a male from another town. Maybe the first since coming here.
But I did not spoil Himawari’s joy.
”He didn’t dislike me after all—he just didn’t want to bother me while I was busy! And now he wants me to visit again! Oh no, what if he keeps calling me? You’ll come again too, right?” she said.
She had heard her master speak of her, and she kept glancing back, unable to let go of the moment. It had clearly meant a lot to her.
I looked at her with narrowed eyes.
”I plan to go back tomorrow. You’re not telling me to stay here and chat with him again and again… right?”
”I—I might have thought about it a little… No! No, I didn’t!” she said, turning away.
Going to a sickroom again and again would only build stress—for me at least.
”Don’t you think something is strange?” I said.
”Huh? About what?”
Keeping a man in that state shut in a room, even if he wished it, was not healthy.
And when I thought calmly, the whole thing felt chilling. They looked like dolls shaped like men.
Even Himawari gave off the air of a parent obsessively doting on a shut-in child.
”Isn’t it odd? All three having the same condition. That shouldn’t happen,” I said.
”It’s just a light ailment. Instead, you should be glad—you saw how much they treasure this town! Did his bragging annoy you?” she said.
”That’s not it,” I said.
He had spoken of the future—growth, new people, expansion. Less about Isumi Town, more about this floor.
When I frowned, Himawari’s expression tightened.
”They aren’t sick. The court doctor said so. Their bodies are fine—just tired hearts. With rest, they will get better,” she said firmly.
But I could not believe it. My view of this place changed at once.
The men in that state, the women accepting it—it all felt wrong.
”Really? They looked very unwell,” I said.
”They will get better, absolutely. I know it. They just need more time to adjust to this environment,” she insisted.
She truly believed it, not just defending her master. Her denial felt raw and young.
Himawari was sharp and cunning, yet helplessly naive when it came to men. She believed anything they said. Sometimes I felt like my own words were knives around her.
”Life has become easier for them. Rice is the best for recovery. I brought seed rice so they never lack food,” she added.
”You can grow rice here?” I asked.
”There’s a mystical carpet that warms the ground. Enough for a small field. If they eat well, they’ll return to how they were,” she said.
She was stubborn, but behind it I sensed pure, fragile fear.
She cared deeply for her master and hated any thought that could make her lose hope.
The Three truly wanted this floor to flourish. Himawari believed the more this place prospered, the more their gloom would lift. In that sense, both hopes matched.
”But they can’t talk or do their duty as men…” I said quietly.
Usually I would not question the policies of a deputy mayor, but now I felt staying here was risky.
Besides, I had been asked to judge this place. It was time to wrap up and leave.
”Do you have any proof they’ll really get better—wait, what?”
Himawari stopped and faced me.
Her bright green eyes held certainty.
”Come,” she said.
I followed without another word.
She led us deeper into the small forest. The trees grew thicker, the sunset turning to soft light through the leaves. Flatty-chan and a few others followed.
”You must see this so you stop worrying,” she said.
”What do you mean? You’re showing me more?” I asked, struggling to keep up.
She answered my question with a question of her own. I did not like that.
”What is the greatest sign of growth for a town? Any town,” she asked.
”Uh… tall buildings? Or a mystical item that gives endless food?” I guessed.
”No. The answer is inside here,” she said.
We reached the deepest room of the forest house.
A gap in the canopy showed the sky burning with sunset clouds. This was the very center of this floor—its heart.
There stood a large metal box.
A shipping container, about half a tennis court in size.
”What is this? It’s rusty,” I said.
The metal surface was wavy, with crane hooks for loading onto ships. It was old, with peeling paint.
”We brought it from the second floor. It was at the port,” she said.
”It fit through the dungeon door?”
”We found ways,” she said.
A woman handed her an old, large key. Himawari inserted it into the lock.
”Is this a mystical object?” I asked.
”Yes. An iron vault that can’t be broken from outside. A warning—don’t try to open it by force,” she said.
”I have a bad feeling.”
”It stops thieves. If you use the wrong key, you will be forced to match the key instead,” she said.
Metal groaned as the container slowly opened.
Only the two of us were allowed inside.
And inside… was a baby boy.
Not even six months old, round and tiny.
He cried when he saw us.
Notes:
• Himawari – A one-eyed black oni girl/aberration-type psionic; town leader/face; asks for promotion help; apologizes for killings; sets 2‑day deadline.
• Enme – A calm attendant with psionic heart-reading used to care for males, she relays their thoughts, feels avoided for her power, and works hard to support the Three.
• Ichimatsu – A high-ranking figure associated with the Imperial Guard, mentioned as having spineless guards around him, with no further details provided.
• 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.
• Shigerou – A middle-aged man from the Katsuraura family; talkative, clueless about the war, enjoys a comfortable life.
• Sugaya – A branch-family noble in his twenties living in the forest sanctuary, he is physically weak and bedridden, loves this floor, and brightens when speaking with another male.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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