Seeing her face seemed to take away all of his accumulated fatigue.
Everything he did was for her peace. Rindo went back to the door quietly so as to not wake her up, but before he could leave the room, Sanekazura whispered, “Lord Azami… Do you have a second?”
“What is it?” Rindo replied quietly.
“It might be nothing, but Lady Nadeshiko has been mumbling in her sleep a lot lately.”
Since she had moved to the honden, Sanekazura more frequently tucked Nadeshiko into bed and woke her up, so she would know such details.
“Is that so? Nadeshiko always was a light sleeper. I also think she has dreams frequently. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about…”
Sanekazura didn’t seem convinced.
“…Have you heard what she dreams about?” she asked.
Rindo tried to remember. Nadeshiko had talked to him about her dreams before. They were usually inconsistent with reality, as often was the case with dreams.
“If I recall, it was never anything realistic… Things that you can tell are a dream.”
“…I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“They say dreams reflect things hidden in the psyche, so I was wondering. And to tell the truth, I’ve been concerned about her sleepwalking.”
“Sleepwalking…? What does she do, exactly…?”
“She gets up and starts trudging around sadly.”
Sanekazura sounded pained.
“Most of the time, she’s looking for you. Rindo, Rindo, she says.”
He didn’t know what to say to that.
It was true that he had left her mostly in Sanekazura’s hands for the last few months due to how busy he was.
Rindo had wanted to watch over his subordinates to make sure the new escort team was functional.
Had his plan backfired and caused stress to his lady?
Did I get too full of myself?
In his mind, his work was for the two of them, but it seemed Nadeshiko didn’t see it that way, given what she said at the airport. He also remembered with a pang of guilt Itecho telling him to make time for Nadeshiko.
He was busy for Nadeshiko’s sake. He thought she knew this.
But even if she did, it didn’t seem to prevent the anxiety.
“She also cries in her sleep. She did that today, too… Lady Nadeshiko is a very good girl, so I think she’s swallowing her feelings down and not saying anything.”
“…Today, too…”
Sanekazura was right; Nadeshiko was considerate. She was only eight, but she was more thoughtful than some adults. She always acted properly as Yamato’s Autumn.
Rindo had been saved by this nature of hers many times before. He couldn’t deny that he was putting her through a lot.
“Also, we tend to forget, since she’s so mature, but…she needs psychological care, right? She was kidnapped not too long ago. And even setting that aside, every day as an Agent means her life is in danger. Yesterday’s proposal must have been stressful, but even before, there was that car following us as soon as we arrived… Everything in Kyokoku has been piling up on her, and the mental strain is affecting her body, I think…”
“…You might be right.”
Nadeshiko’s anxiety showed itself through insomnia.
Thankfully, she was sleeping well as long as Rindo was with her at all times.
The doctors said that mental scars faded as time went by, but they were never fully healed.
“I think she needs an environment where she can have peace of mind, but something that would have really helped was if her parents showed up at the airport. I called them, and the Agency should have also cleared their schedule for it… Why didn’t they come? Have they no heart?”
Sanekazura grumbled more and more as she went on. She was devoted to her job, but going from the way she spoke, she had developed feelings for Nadeshiko that made her annoyed with her parents’ treatment of her.
“Can’t they at least say good-bye to their own child when she goes on a trip…?”
She also had issues with her own parents, so perhaps she saw a bit of herself in Nadeshiko.
Did I miss any signals from Nadeshiko?
Dark clouds formed in Rindo’s heart.
Sanekazura looked at him as though she was waiting for a response, so he tried to answer.
“…Ms. Sanekazura. That won’t change anymore. As the parents of a goddess, they should be receiving some financial leeway and time off work, yet they visit her less and less each year.”
“What is wrong with them?!” Sanekazura fumed.
“I asked them to come see her when the Season Descent ended, but they evaded the topic. They probably don’t even want to go to Tsukushi…”
“But we were in Teishu this time. They could’ve gone to the airport!”
“Maybe I’m doing something wrong.”
“Huh? No… There’s no way you’re the problem.”
“No, it’s true that I can’t get along with them,” Rindo said. “I’ve failed to be flexible when I should’ve been before. I tried to be careful with my choice of words, but I don’t think they like me. I was furious with them before, just like you.”
“…But…”
“I tried being more accommodating, but seeing how nothing has changed, I don’t think they want anybody telling them how to handle their kid. Also, I think they’re just busy with work. They’re still on the fast track to success within the Agency.”
“But…,” Sanekazura repeated, while Rindo pondered.
Was I doing the same thing as them?
Rindo had little history with Nadeshiko’s parents. He could count the number of times he had met them.
He’d met them after being appointed Guard of Autumn, but they didn’t seem sad at all about giving up their daughter as a goddess, and they only told him to do what they wanted with her. The issue became clearer once he started living with Nadeshiko.
She had clearly been raised in a different environment from him.
She asked about everything he did. Why would you do that for me?
The fact that an adult was looking after her seemed to be strange to her.
Rindo was just as confused.
He was only doing what his parents did for him, and yet she found it strange. It was hard to describe how uncomfortable that made him.
Even remembering those days was unpleasant.
Around the time the God of Autumn changed…
In Reimei 18 at the time of year that should have been spring, Nadeshiko Iwaizuki became a goddess.
As had become usual, winter extended into the void spring had left.
Rindo met his lady that summer. The cold had retreated, and the sun was shining bright on the crops. You could break a sweat even standing still.
What bad luck.
He had been living abroad, helping his parents with work and enjoying the outside world unlike most descendants of the Four Seasons. He couldn’t reveal his identity, but he’d even graduated from a normal university.
He would sometimes return to the Town of Autumn and show his prowess at the Azami dojo, but even as they tried to keep him there, he would go back abroad. He was living a quiet and comfortable life.
But even he would eventually be bound by his bloodline’s curse.
He was appointed the Guard of the new Agent of Autumn, Nadeshiko Iwaizuki.
The title might sound prestigious, but it’s just babysitting.
He was now a dependable leader, but at the time, he had merely been a proud youngster.
He was the eldest son of the Azami family, excelling in academics and sports. His relatives and the people who had faced him in the Azami dojo all recommended him as the perfect pick, so Rindo had to reluctantly accept.
His mastery of Yamatoan jujitsu, a product of his diligence in multiple areas, ended up leading him to misfortune.
Refusal was not an option, and his grandparents had even wept with joy at the news. So he resolved himself to do what was needed.
And so Rindo Azami became the Guard of Autumn.