“Good morning, Sir Raigen!”
“Good morning, Teiha. You’re up early.”
In the north of Keiyou, right at the edge of the river, stood Hakuhou Castle. Hakuhou had been built with high ramparts, mainly used to keep an eye on Gen. This morning as I stood at the height of one of such ramparts, Teiha—my distant relative and a young man for whom my lord, Chou Tairan, had high expectations—joined me.
Teiha used to be overconfident to a fault, but ever since meeting the young master he’d become quite humble; Lord Sekiei had the uncanny ability to push others to better themselves. We’d first met the young master just after he killed the bandits who’d murdered his parents and servants... I still remembered the way he’d stood there on that plain, covered in blood from head to toe, dagger in hand. Back then I’d insisted on his immediate termination.
I’d been a fool.
The morning mist concealed the opposite side of the river. Teiha looked at me, his expression tight with anxiety. “It doesn’t look like there’s any movement this morning either.”
I hummed and nodded in agreement as I stroked my beard, which had turned bright white over time; fifty years had passed since my first battle. My eyesight was still the same as when I was a young man, though, and I could only barely make out the massive war flag on Gen’s side of the border. The river bisecting the continent was so wide here that one could mistake it for the sea.
Teiha’s face turned serious. “When will General Chou return? It’s been three months since he made for the capital.”
“It will take him some time still. They’ve finished the joint practice with His Imperial Majesty’s soldiers, but the emperor hasn’t reviewed our troops yet. General Chou also has yet ahead of him the difficult task of convincing the pacifist faction.”
My lord Tairan, who had protected the Ei Empire for the past twenty years from the front lines and served as the cornerstone of its national defense, was not in Keiyou at present. Three months ago he’d made his way to Rinkei. He had wanted to inform the emperor of the dangerous cavalrymen from the northwest whom Lady Hakurei and Lord Sekiei had encountered, as well as to request reinforcements.
Under his helmet, Teiha’s expression darkened. “Do the people in the capital seriously plan on making peace with Gen? They must be mad.”
“I’m merely an old man; I cannot fathom what goes through the minds of the great magistrates in the capital. But the young master, upon returning to Keiyou, said the same thing as Lord Tairan—that the people of Rinkei view the world in a different light than we on the front lines do.”
“The young master said that?” There was a fearful awe in Teiha’s voice. He was starting to realize what kind of person the young master really was.
The morning mist was beginning to clear. “The young master is truly a mysterious person. Despite his youth, he already grasps the importance of military logistics and he brims with a talent for battle, no matter how much he tries to hide it. I have no doubt that he—along with Lady Hakurei—will help to support the Chou family and Lord Tairan in the future. In fact, they already do. The veteran soldiers have all taken note of the young master’s true worth.”
Beneath the ramparts I could see the Chou soldiers bustling about. Thick clouds of steam rose from the kitchen; they were burning bamboo charcoal so that they could prepare a nice, hot breakfast. Lord Sekiei had been able to hold an audience with a merchant family so powerful that even I, as ignorant about the world as I was, knew of, and struck a deal that would provide us with rations for cheap. Food shortages had dogged Keiyou for years and yet Lord Sekiei had managed to provide a solution.
A general who endeavored to provide the soldiers on the front lines with warm food every day was a rare and valuable one; this was something that only veteran soldiers could fully understand. Ours would surely give their lives for both Lord Tairan and the young master, for the sake of Keiyou and Ei’s future.
“But doesn’t Lord Sekiei want to be a local civil official?” Teiha chuckled. “A while ago, I’d heard that General Chou permitted Lord Sekiei’s trip to Rinkei to try and make him give up on his dream. It was to make him realize he wasn’t cut out for desk work.”
The soldiers inside the ramparts who had been listening in on our conversation snickered. I also grinned and smacked Teiha on his shoulder. “The young master’s wish is one that will never come true; I’ve never seen anyone else with as much potential as a warrior. Besides, Lady Hakurei would never permit him to take up the pen. Ever since she was a child, she’s dreamed of going to war with the young master and Lord Tairan at her side.”
The only thing the young master lacked was the ability to navigate the subtleties in a relationship with a woman. I was old, with little time left to me. It would be a weight off my shoulders if he would marry someone soon.
I picked up my coat from a chair and put it on. Then, I turned to Teiha. “Has anyone found the location of Gen’s emperor or the Four Wolves?”
“Unfortunately not. However, the spy we sent northward hasn’t made a report for several days now. If he hasn’t been captured or killed, then it’s likely that Gen has tightened its security. The general thought to be the Crimson Wolf—the one whom Lord Sekiei encountered—is likewise unaccounted for. Information from Seitou has been slow to come in due to the bad weather and sandstorms.”
“I see...”
I thought back to when the young master, just returned from his last trip to Rinkei, had unfurled a map of the continent and said, “The enemies will eventually find out about father’s absence. Hopefully, he and the soldiers will return before they do. But what’ll happen if Gen decides on an invasion? If I were him...”
The plan he’d detailed could only be described as eccentric; his talent was practically a gift from the heavens. It was hard to believe he was the same person as the young boy who’d survived that hellish battlefield, the air thick with the stench of death, all by himself. That he was the same boy who’d been feared as a demon child. In retrospect, Lady Hakurei had been the only person who insisted that we spare him. They were bound together by a curious fate—no. Surely they had been destined since birth to meet.
“Sir Raigen?” Teiha said, a curious look in his eye. “Is something the matter?”
“Nothing; I was just lost in my memories. Construction on the defensive line west of Keiyou has finished, yes? The one that Lord Tairan ordered?”
The wall of fortresses along the river was impenetrable. The land east of Keiyou had several points where the river was more shallow and made it possible for soldiers to cross, but the generals guarding those areas were all formidable warriors with years of experience. If Gen launched a straightforward attack, no matter how powerful their army was, those generals would be able to repel them. Which was—according to Lord Tairan—precisely why there was a high chance Emperor Adai would employ a different strategy. He’d also sent letters from Rinkei warning us about a possible western threat.
To the west of Keiyou were plains as far as the eye could see, with gently sloping hills marking the landscape. Beyond those plains was the mercantile country of Seitou. Seitou might have shared a northern border with Gen, but between the two countries were the steep Nanamagari Mountains and the deadly Hakkotsu Desert. Gen’s forces consisted mainly of cavalry, and horses could cross neither mountain nor desert.
I’d heard that a Gen scouting party had tried to enter Seitou three months ago, but they’d lost plenty of men and horses to the elements on the way there; on the way back they’d been forced to take a longer and more difficult route in order to avoid Seitou’s defensive lines. It was impossible for a large army to get to Seitou from Gen. Over the course of the continent’s long history the only ones who’d been able to achieve that miraculous feat were the Twin Stars.
Teiha slammed his fist against his armor, making a noise loud enough that my attention turned to him. “We’ve made some major renovations to the abandoned fortress and placed about two hundred soldiers in it. Lord Sekiei has named it Hakugin Castle!”
“Hmm...” I couldn’t leave the front lines until Lord Tairan returned. I might have grown old, but the barbarians were aware of the legends of how I’d earned myself the name “Raigen the Ogre.” It would serve to deter them from invading. I placed my hand on Teiha’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but could you check on something for me? Then, go make your report to the young master in Keiyou.”
“Yessir! Oh, that reminds me, I’ve a letter for you from Lord Sekiei.”
“Oh?” I took the folded piece of paper from Teiha and looked through what was inside.
“Gramps! Hurry back before I drown in the mountains of documents! Also, please put a stop to Hakurei! Every morning she forces me to go riding or training with her!!!”
I chuckled. My wife and son had already died and, barring Teiha, I had no one left in the world to call family. Is this what it’s like to have a grandchild? I showed Teiha the contents of the letter and then stroked my beard. “It looks like the young master is having his fair share of troubles. However, I’ve lived enough years to know a thing or two about etiquette, and I most certainly cannot get in Lady Hakurei’s way. Granted, it would be another thing if the young master would give up on becoming a civil official and decide to work in the military.”
Teiha, as well as the other soldiers, knew what I was talking about and laughed with me. “I wholeheartedly agree,” Teiha said. “I’ll return as soon as I finish my report.”
“Good. I leave it in your hands.”
The young master might not enjoy it, but we needed him to suffer through some trials and tribulations now so that in the near future, he’d be able to carry on the Chou name.
“Summer may be drawing near, but the days are still cold,” I said to Teiha, closing my eyes. “Let’s go back inside and have breakfast.”