Volume 9 Chapter 3 Part 5 (1/2)
”Sounds like it's been tough, in more ways than one.”
”Yes, well, it was tough for sure.”
s.h.i.+n's party managed to exit the dungeon with barely any monster encounters and returned to the Black Priestess Shrine guild house.
Having learned of Kotone's return, many priestesses gathered in the guild house.
s.h.i.+n's party, on the other hand, was in the guildmaster's room, reporting in detail what had happened in the dungeon.
”It looks like Kotone managed to maintain her consciousness thanks to Onimaru. On the physical side too, abnormal incident like mutated or missing body parts did not occur either.”
”I'm having her checked here too, just in case. I was worried because she was imprisoned for 5 years, but thankfully the doctor said that there's nothing wrong with her.”
There were many methods of healing in the world, but Arts such as Heal or Cure or Potions were not present everywhere. Black Priestess Shrine members also possessed medical techniques not relying on such methods.
Suzune had accompanied Kotone to take her tests, so she was not in the room either.
”Well, I'd like you to tell me the reason not to dispel Onimaru's bind.”
After the report about Kotone ended, s.h.i.+n asked this question to Mitsuyo.
In the dungeon, the purification had been completed and s.h.i.+n thought that Onimaru Kunitsuna would now be alright; yet for some reason Mitsuyo said to wait before releasing the bind, and the katana was still restrained.
”I guess there's no helping it. If possible, I actually wanted to bring it back like this.”
”No, if there are any problems I'm not going to force you, you know.”
”I don't mean to say that you or the others did anything wrong. As we are both Supreme Blades, we can communicate through our consciousness, and I've already verified that Kunitsuna retains it.”
”So, what's stopping you?”
”.I'll let Kunitsuna answer that.”
Mitsuyo didn't want to answer herself, apparently, so she handed Onimaru, still affected by Elemental Bind, back to s.h.i.+n.
There was nothing dangerous behind it though, or so Mitsuyo said.
”.okay, I'm removing the bind then.”
Mitsuyo's behavior gave s.h.i.+n a bad feeling about it, but there was no reason to keep the katana bound.
Once freed, Onimaru flashed and a.s.sumed human form. It was a female type, like Munechika and Mitsuyo.
Her appearance was about 20 years old. Her eyes were still closed, so they couldn't tell what color they were, but her shoulder-length hair had a beautiful black l.u.s.ter that did not lose to Munechika's.
Onimaru was what one would call a traditional j.a.panese beauty. Within her black hair, two of her bangs -one on the left and one on the right of her face- were bright red. Looking at them, s.h.i.+n pictured an Oni's horns.
She was wearing a hakama, but her shoulders and torso were also protected by pieces of armor, forming a rather unusual combination. Onimaru Kunitsuna was firmly equipped at her waist.
Once she opened her eyes, red pupils -different from any other Supreme Blade- looked straight at s.h.i.+n.
”Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am one of the Five Supreme Blades, Onimaru Kunitsuna. Allow me to offer you my grat.i.tude for everything you have done for me.”
Kunitsuna then politely bowed her head.
s.h.i.+n had been prepared for anything to happen, so he felt slightly disoriented.
”I would also like to inquire something. Who matched blades with lady Kotone among you? Other than Mitsuyo.”
”That would be me.”
”Aah! So it was really you, sir!!”
s.h.i.+n replied, and Kunitsuna walked closer to him, a full smile on her lips. Mitsuyo had stepped in between them, but Kunitsuna dodged her instantly. s.h.i.+n was surprised by the agility of her movements, but then Kunitsuna took his hands in hers, placed them on her chest and said something he couldn't have predicted.
”I beg of you, please become my master!”
”.what?”
s.h.i.+n needed a few seconds before he could grasp the meaning of Kunitsuna's request.
”Enough!”
”Ouch!”
As s.h.i.+n and the others were frozen in place by Kunitsuna's words, Mitsuyo -who had expected them- gave her a light whack over the head. As Kunitsuna's grip on s.h.i.+n's hands weakened, he took the opportunity to step away from her.
”Mitsuyo, please explain what's going on.”
”Exactly what you heard. Basically she wants you to become herOnimaru Kunitsuna's wielder.”
s.h.i.+n asked Mitsuyo, not Kunitsuna, for an explanation, and Mitsuyo obliged with a sigh.
As he heard her reply, s.h.i.+n finally understood why Mitsuyo didn't want to remove Kunitsuna's bind.
”No one has ever been so rough with me”
”What are you talking about now!?!”
With no regard for Mitsuyo's rebuke, Kunitsuna looked straight at s.h.i.+n. To s.h.i.+n, her eyes appeared to be almost sparkling.
”Well, that's an interesting girl if I ever saw one.”
”Indeed. If her body is a weapon, however, to seek the most able wielder is certainly not a problem.”
”You two over there, don't talk like this doesn't concern you. If we're talking about wielders, you two are perfectly good candidates too.”
s.h.i.+n scoffed and replied to the honestly impressed s.h.i.+baid and Filma. In regards to ability, all of s.h.i.+n's support characters, Schnee included, possessed more than enough to qualify.
Incidentally, Schnee was whispering ”there's no way s.h.i.+n will accept”.
”Lady Kunitsuna, I am truly sorry, but I have decided that the weapon I wield is True Moon. Thus I cannot be your wielder.”
”Isthat so. That's a sh-”
”Good, Kunitsuna's nonsense is now over, so let's get on with the discussion.”
Mitsuyo interrupted the disappointed Kunitsuna and urged the group to resume their talks. It was a fairly crude treatment, but probably as they had communicated earlier too, this result had been predicted.
”You're cruel, Mitsuyo.”
”I told you this would have happened. So, what are we going to do next?”
”Next, hmm. Well, we did everything we had to.”
s.h.i.+n continued saying that they could go straight back to Fuji, but Kuchinas.h.i.+ stopped him.
”If so, won't you join our celebrations?”
”Celebrations?”
”There have been casualties among us, but Onimaru was finally recovered from the dungeon and Kotone returned safe and sound. Furthermore, our greatest concern, the miasma, has disappeared. We had to borrow your strength, but it is a great result for us. Everyone didn't show it, but ever since Kotone's group failed their mission, the mood had been pretty quite dark, or rather hopeless, I'd say. So, to wipe it away completely, I thought of organizing a celebration.”
If the valiant warriors who had lent a hand to this success were absent from the celebration, the festive mood would be partly tarnished. Kuchinas.h.i.+ thus requested the presence of s.h.i.+n's party in the celebrations.
”Personally, I'd like to avoid having my name and face became more well known.”
”I heard what happened in Balmel. To be brutally honest, I doubt there's any meaning in hiding now. On the contrary, if they knew that ”that famous” s.h.i.+n had done it, everyone would just nod and accept it.”
”Did it really spread that much? Trying to avoid all possible trouble, I haven't visited the adventurer's guild once after leaving Balmel.”
Kuchinas.h.i.+'s argument about it being too late was reasonable too.
On the other hand, going around defeating small fry and clearing miasma-infested dungeons was very different. s.h.i.+n knew that it was impossible to keep people from talking, but he still wanted to make an effort to lay low.
”Half truth, half exaggerated rumors, though. But even the exaggerated rumors mention things that you could do easily s.h.i.+n. After all, people of the right trade could track you down right away anyway.”
”Nothing I can do about that, I guess. A number of people saw us head north, so if they gather information they'd easily start thinking that we're suspicious, too.”
Their movements had not been perfectly concealed by any means, so s.h.i.+n decided to accept the situation, as sooner or later he'd be discovered anyway.
”I understand. Don't hide anything and openly say that I did it then. We'll probably be involved in all sorts of things from now on too anyway, so it's just a matter of time.”
”Okay, you'll be at the center then s.h.i.+n.”
It will be unavoidable for the party members to receive attention too, but Kuchinas.h.i.+ promised to make sure the information spread with s.h.i.+n at its center.
”Then, about our grat.i.tude, I mean the reward”
”Reward? We never talked about that, did we? We came of our own will, and you also let us enter into the normally inaccessible Black Priestess Shrine territory too.”
s.h.i.+n's group wished to recover Onimaru. Kuchinas.h.i.+ and her followers wished to save Kotone.
The method to accomplish their objectives was the same, so they cooperated.
s.h.i.+n and Kuchinas.h.i.+ had a friendly relations.h.i.+p, so it was just a matter of form, but since their agreement had been such, s.h.i.+n was puzzled.
”That won't do, though. You saved one of our precious comrades, but we let you go without any rewardthat would be dishonorable. There are those who know that we tried and failed to clear the dungeon. We need to at least a put on ”performance” to show that we paid you adequately for your work. Something we both agreed upon, based on a formal contract. Of course, I will keep the fact that we know each other hidden.”
”If that piece of information spreads too, some people could come here, hoping to reach and use you through me.”
Black Priestess Shrine was not governing their territory through their strength alone; they had been entrusted with it through a pact with the Kujou house. Even so, they still had frictions with neighboring territories and could not disregard the diplomatic relations with them, sighed Kuchinas.h.i.+.
The saving grace was that, as Black Priestess Shrine's role could not be performed by anyone else, they weren't normally bothered by their neighbors.
It was the burden due to being the host of many priestesses, as Kuchinas.h.i.+ hinted.
”Well, for the reward, just something formal is fine. But don't go using us for your diplomacy now.”
”I know that. I'm not that ungrateful.”
Afterward, they talked about the formal reward and the group's lodging, then s.h.i.+n's group left the room.
Kuchinas.h.i.+ was apparently sure that they wouldn't fail the mission; a few hours before the banquet, s.h.i.+n knew that she had prepared two rewards: one in case Kotone had been saved and another one in case only purification had been possible.
The hectic preparations continued; being the main event, s.h.i.+n and s.h.i.+baid were forced to wear elegant kimono, to their extreme displeasure. Then, their female companions appeared.
”Ooohas expected, priestess robes look good with black hair.”
They were wearing white and red, traditional priestess robes, different from the Black Priestess Shrine's typical uniforms.The first to appear dressed in this outfit was Tiera.
Her golden eyes and the silver streaks in her hair were unusual elements considering the attire, but her long black hair perfectly fit the priestess robes.
Her lightly flushed cheeks, maybe out of embarra.s.sment from being the center of attention, added even more charm to the whole, at least according to s.h.i.+n.
”Don't stare so much now.”
”I didn't mean to. But it looks good on you, you can't blame me for looking a bit, no?”
”Well, that's fineI'm just the opening act for master and the others, anyway.”
While fiddling with the silver tips of her hair, Tiera looked towards the door she had come from.
The next ones to come out were Kotone and Filma.
The black-haired, black-eyed Kotone was exactly what s.h.i.+n pictured from the word priestess. Her delicate gestures, combined with the robe, gave a perfectly graceful impression.
On the other hand, Filma's stance was almost too proud; she almost looked like a foreigner doing cosplay.
”How do I look? Not too bad, right?”
Used to Filma's usual armor and its high skin exposure, s.h.i.+n and s.h.i.+baid thought that the priestess robe and its low ratio of exposed skin made Filma look more seductive.
”Hmm, as they say, beauties are beauties no matter what they wear, but this is a prime example indeed. I get an impression pretty different than the usual.”
”Your usual colors are red and purple, so the red hakama looks really good on you. And like s.h.i.+baid said, there's a curious gap”
Kotone inquired as well.
”If I may ask too, what do you think of me?”
”Honestly speaking, I'd be hard pressed to find words other than ”it looks good on you”you are exactly what I picture when I imagine a priestess, you see.”
A beautiful black-haired, black-eyed priestess. The impact of her coy look was incommensurable.
”We're here too, if you care.”
”.Mitsuyo and Kunitsuna, why are you wearing priestess clothes too? Well, no, you look good, of course”
s.h.i.+n's attention had been occupied by Filma and Kotone, when Mitsuyo and Kunitsuna, also wearing priestess robes, called to him from behind.
They normally wore armor, but picturing different clothes in mind could let them change to a degree, they said. Because of the occasion, they decided to wear priestess robes too.
Maybe affected by the colors of their armor, the sleeves of Mitsuyo's robe had black and golden patterns, while Kunitsuna's were red and black.
”We thought to entice lord s.h.i.+n with our charmsbut I see we have many fierce rivals.”
”Shut up. And that's not how it is anyway.”