“I’ve already finished my errands. I learned the location of the Ou family’s manor through a letter our aunt left behind. Now, please answer my question.”
Hakurei had crossed the bridge in a hurry to reach the island Meirin and I were on. She looked down at me, her gaze so cold that I felt goose bumps break out over my skin.
“N-Now, listen you...” My voice refused to cooperate. A-Auntie... You’re not even in the city and you still manage to cause trouble for me! Miss Shizuka, who was standing behind Hakurei, gave me an encouraging look. How did things come to this?
While I was busy pretending that the reality before me was a figment of my imagination, Ou Meirin stood up and offered Hakurei an elegant bow. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Meirin, and I am the eldest daughter of Ou Jin. I assume you are Lady Chou Hakurei? I believe that we’ll have many, many chances to get to know each other better in the future, so I hope we can become good friends. ♪”
“Yes, my name is Chou Hakurei. I’d like to express my gratitude to you for providing our soldiers with provisions. Thank you. However, I personally have no interest in becoming your friend.”
Hakurei and Meirin stared at each other before they smiled as one. Despite their sweet expressions there was fire in their eyes. I swore I could see the illusion of a tiger and a dragon behind them, locked in combat.
I ignored the droplets of cold sweat pouring down my face and tried to change the topic. “Uh, so, where’s Asaka?” I asked Hakurei.
“She’s with father. I’m not a child; so as long as I have a map, I can navigate myself through the city.”
“Right...”
It looked like I’d brought up the wrong topic. I could see Miss Shizuka offering me a sympathetic smile. After having been glaring at Meirin even while responding to my question, Hakurei finally turned to look at me. “Stand up. Now,” her eyes said.
I could feel my heart freeze in my chest. I hadn’t the foggiest idea as to why she was so angry, but I knew that there would be no reasoning with Hakurei in the state she was in. I raised my hands in surrender. “All right, I got it. Let’s go—”
“Oh? You’re already going to go home?”
“M-Meirin?!”
Meirin crossed her legs in her chair and accepted a cup of tea from Miss Shizuka. Then, she gave Hakurei a bright smile. Hakurei, her hand on my back, returned the expression with a thin smile of her own.
“My apologies,” Hakurei said. “My father is wai—”
“Would you like to hear how Lord Sekiei and I met?” Meirin interrupted.
“Wha—?!” Both Hakurei and I froze.
Without taking her eyes off us, Meirin said, “So, it’s safe to assume you two will stay for a while longer? Shizuka, prepare some tea and snacks for Lady Hakurei.”
“Yes, Lady Meirin.” With a delighted look on her face, Miss Shizuka started to prepare Hakurei’s refreshments.
This isn’t good. Out loud, I said, “H-Hakurei, we shouldn’t keep father wai—”
“I’m sure he won’t mind if we’re late by a little bit,” Hakurei replied in a firm voice. She sat down and then prompted me with a look to sit as well. I settled in the seat next to her, my movements slow with the sheer awkwardness of the situation.
Meirin recrossed her legs with a confident motion. “Now, let’s start the story of my destined meeting with Lord Sekiei!”
✦ ✦ ✦
As the daughter of the Ou family—who are renowned even in the bustling city of Rinkei—I was forced to live an incredibly sheltered life. Both of my parents were skilled merchants and they traveled all over the country, from east to west. Even though I don’t have many memories with them because of it, I still believe that I had a fortunate childhood. However. My father, unlike my mother, is very overprotective.
I’m seventeen years old, and yet no matter how many times I begged, he wouldn’t let me out of Rinkei. They leave Rinkei all the time; they even go into all sorts of dangerous territories! That was when I came up with a plan—I would sneak onto one of our supply ships on the Grand Canal. The water of the Grand Canal is the lifeblood of the Ou family’s prosperity; without it, we wouldn’t be able to import our wares or sell our products. As the future head of the Ou family, I needed to have a practical understanding of what the workplace was like. That was the excuse I came up with, anyway.
My plan worked perfectly. Shizuka found out about it... And the captain of the ship welcomed me aboard with a too-bright smile... B-But, you know... It still worked out!
It was my first time aboard a ship and everything felt so new to me. I can still remember how I went around and asked the sailors so many questions. I’d ask things like “What’s this?” and “What was that monster that just jumped out of the water?” It was on the morning we were to arrive at our destination, Keiyou, that things took a turn.
I was asleep in the cabin. Shizuka came in to wake me and by the time I was fully conscious, the situation was already grave. I could hear the sailors giving each other orders, their voices tight and nervous.
“Pirates! There are pirates chasing after us!”
“Why are there pirates on the Grand Canal?”
“It must be people who can’t afford the salt tax.”
“The wind is too weak for the sails! To the oars! We must row the boat ourselves!”
“There aren’t enough people for that!”
I didn’t know much about the wider world, but it wasn’t hard for me to understand that we were caught up in something terrible. I clung to Shizuka as we went out onto the deck. From there, we could see a dozen little ships, all of them prepared to attack ours. Ever since the grand chancellor lowered the prices on salt, there had been a decrease of pirates and bandits along the Grand Canal, so most every ship had reduced the number of potential rowers on board, ours included. The sail upon the main mast wasn’t moving and the air was calm, absent of the usual wind—it was clear that we wouldn’t be able to escape unless we did something drastic.
“Lady Meirin, I will protect you no matter what happens.”
Even before Shizuka whispered her promise in my ear, I knew that we were backed in a corner. None of the sailors had any combat experience; they all held their weapons in awkward ways.
Upon a ship at the back of the enemy fleet was the pirates’ presumed leader—a barbaric-looking man wielding a broadsword. Before he could say anything or even give an order, however, I saw him fall into the water with an arrow protruding from his shoulder. At the same time the sailor in the crow’s nest yelled, “There’s a military ship coming up behind the enemy fleet! It bears the Chou family’s flag!”
For a moment, none of us said anything. But in the next, we raised our voices in a cheer. Everyone in the Ei Empire knew of the National Shield, Chou Tairan. Relief flooded my chest, and I can vividly recall how my knees almost buckled as the adrenaline ran out of my body.
“Lady Meirin?!”
I fought through the weakness and tore myself out of Shizuka’s arms, sprinting towards the bow of the ship. The reason for my action was simple: I wanted to witness the Chou family’s famous military might for myself. That was all. I could hear Shizuka following behind me and the moment I reached the front of the ship I saw it, clear as day, with my own eyes.
“Th-That’s...”
I saw a brave, black-haired warrior, his formidable technique on full display as he shot down the pirates. Each enemy required only one draw of his bow. He showed no fear, even though the pirates rained down countless arrows in return as a way to defend themselves. Yes, that warrior was none other than...