The man—Ou Eifuu, my best friend and current political opponent (apparently)—answered in an unbelievably cold tone. “Kougyoku, retreat. I’m ordering you, as the imperial chancellor of the Tou Empire. I have something I’d like to discuss with the Tou Empire’s Great General, Kou Eihou. More importantly, this land is where we swore an oath with the great Emperor Hi Gyoumei!!! I will not allow any of you to set foot here!!!”
“Understood! I-I apologize...” The general’s entire body shook as she lowered her head and gave a weak swing of her swagger stick. She, along with the grimacing commanders and injured soldiers, started to head back down the mountain and Eifuu continued to watch them go with a stern expression.
When we could no longer see them, he sighed and more or less rolled off of his horse. Then, he bowed his head deeply before me.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Everything that’s been happening, it’s all my fault...”
“Don’t worry about it. Kougyoku’s a nice girl and she had your best interests at heart.” I removed two cups from my pack and, after pouring wine into them, slid one towards my friend. “Let’s drink.”
Our positions in the empire had greatly changed after the former emperor’s death, but we’d spent almost our entire lives together, and the past we shared would never betray us. We were sworn brothers.
Eifuu took the cup from me and drained it. The dim morning light accentuated the bags under his eyes, as well as caught the silver in his hair, making it glow.
“You’ve grown old. Are you sure you’re only thirty-five years old, Your Excellency?” I teased him as I poured him more alcohol. “You don’t look it.”
“I’m in charge of some truly vexing work, unlike a certain great general I know...” Eifuu huffed irritably.
“Politics aren’t my forte. I’m nothing more than a blade.”
“Hmph.” Eifuu drank half of the alcohol in his cup and then roughly snatched the rest of the bottle from me. “You never change... You’re straightforward and don’t hesitate to follow through on your own convictions. That’s precisely why...”
The wind blew, causing countless peach blossoms to dance through the air, the petals reflecting the final vestiges of the night and the faint gleam of the morning sun. It looked exactly like it did back then, twenty years ago.
My sworn brother looked up and fat tears began to stream down his face. His cup fell from his fingers, hitting the ground with a clang and shattering. He grabbed me by my shoulders in a tight and painful grip.
“Eihou, my friend, run...! You...a man like you, who cares and fights for this country and its people more than anyone else, must not be killed as a result of false charges like this... You simply mustn’t!”
As soon as I saw the desperation of his face, I realized something.
Ahh... This man... My kind friend, smarter than anyone else in this empire—he must’ve been racking his brains after the emperor ordered him to assassinate me. He probably couldn’t even sleep for worry.
I looked up at the massive peach tree.
“His Majesty...I never thought that kid hates me this much,” I admitted, dropping the formalities just as I would have in the past.
The Tou Empire’s second emperor—the only son of the previous ruler—was a mediocre man in all aspects. I knew that well enough. However, I’d also believed that so long as Eifuu was around, he’d be more than capable of allowing the empire to grow.
My friend lowered his face and after a pause, he said, “You shone too bright. You were sent out to so many battlefields and yet always returned without a single injury, nor did you ever lose. The achievements you racked up as the former emperor’s ‘blade’ are unprecedented. You never change your mind, even when speaking with the emperor; you gave up your title and territory on your own. And though you relinquished your military authority, you refused to give up the Heavenly Swords when ordered to... The emperor never experienced the battlefield. From his point of view, it must’ve felt like you were mocking him.”
“These swords shouldn’t be called the ‘Heavenly Swords,’” I tried to joke. “We haven’t unified the country yet.”
Eifuu didn’t respond to the jest. Instead, he slammed his fist into the nearby boulder.
“Let me tell you the truth,” he said. “Even I...was jealous of you! I used to think to myself, ‘Why did the heavens place Kou Eihou and Ou Eifuu in the same generation?’ Go ahead, laugh. The country respected me as the imperial chancellor, but the only thing that has been pushing me in the seven years since we lost our first emperor was my envy for you! And look, just look at where that’s brought us! I can’t even openly save my only friend...”
“I see...”
To tell you the truth, I didn’t want to be a military general, someone who could only send my men to their deaths. I wanted to be a civil official like you, Eifuu, and save our people that way... It doesn’t seem like the right time to say that, though.
I closed my eyes and slowly unsheathed the twin swords from my belt before walking to stand before the boulder.
The name of the obsidian sword was Black Star, and the name of the alabaster was White Star. They were the only gifts I received from Hi Gyoumei—my and Eifuu’s deceased best friend—before he became the emperor. They were apparently made during the age of the gods, using stars that’d fallen from the heavens.
My sworn brother blinked at me. “Eihou? What are you—”
“Hah!”
I ignored his question and I swung the swords down upon the boulder that Gyoumei used to sit on. I performed the action without any proper form, but I felt the blades sink into the stone regardless. I cut the boulder into two and the pieces tumbled off the cliff and were swallowed up by the waterfall. A huge pillar of water rose up into the air. Droplets fell upon me as I sheathed the Twin Stars and then removed them altogether from my belt.
“Eifuu!” My friend was still standing there as if in shock. I tossed those blades, the twin swords destined to become the Heavenly Swords, to him. Then I opened my mouth. “These two still have work to do, it seems. I’ll leave the rest to you!”
“Wait, what? Eihou? What are you talking about?” My friend’s voice was shaking.
I stood at the edge of the cliff and winked. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you can do it. Oh, that reminds me. It’s about time for you to go find yourself a nice, pretty wife.”
“A-All right. All right, I will! Just don’t do anything stupid!”
The white glow of the morning sun illuminated the clearing, chasing away the last of the night and causing the stars to fade. Eifuu’s desperate expression implored me to reconsider, but I shook my head.
“A blade is not what’s necessary for the empire’s future.” I smiled at my friend. He looked like he was about to burst into tears, much like he had twenty years ago, the first day he stood on the battlefield. “You are necessary, Ou Eifuu. Fulfill my—our—dream, and unify the lands under the heavens to create a country where the people can eat and sleep without worry. We went through a lot, but I had a blast. Well...see ya!”
“EIHOU!!!”
With my best friend’s cry ringing in my ears, I took a running start and flung myself into the air. I looked above me and watched as one of the twin stars fell from the sky. Then I was swallowed up by the waterfall, surrounded on all sides by frigid water.
It wasn’t so bad a life.
If I could live another one...I want to become a civil official like Eifuu rather than a warrior who kills on the battlefield, so that I can save people using politics. Heh, likely I won’t be able to attain a higher position than a local magistrate.
With those as my final thoughts, deep in the murky darkness, I, Kou Eihou, lost consciousness.