“Ugh... It never ends. It just never ends...” And yet despite my groaning, I didn’t stop running my pen over the papers in front of me.
Today I’d decided to do my work in the garden as a change of pace, but it was slow going and the mountain of paperwork hadn’t seemed to grow smaller at all. My eyelids got heavier and heavier in the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun, even though I knew if I fell asleep now then I’d have to work into the night.
The words “SEKIEI - CONFIRM” were written in red ink on the wooden box next to me; she’d gone out of her way to use that color. The mountains of paperwork that people kept putting into the box were staggeringly high, and were causing me stress just as immense. These weren’t even everything. The civil officials were in charge of over half of the paperwork and I’d heard that only documents that needed final confirmation were sent to the Chou family.
“Gramps sure was amazing.”
It’d been three months since we returned from Keiyou. Though Raigen—currently at the front lines in father’s place—was well-known as an experienced and brave warrior, I only now realized how skilled he’d been at internal affairs as well. Being a civil official sure isn’t as easy as I imagined. I sighed and started to look at the next document when, from the corner of my eye, I saw an arrow pierce a straw dummy in the shape of a person. It completely missed the target on the chest.
Hakurei, her silver hair tied up with a ribbon, thought for a moment before she nocked a second arrow. “He was, yes,” she said, her tone as calm as always. “You didn’t know?”
“You were listening? Yeah well...he’s just more impressive than I imagined. He’s been getting up in years, so I guess I’ll be a bit nicer to him once he gets back.” I scratched my head and reflected on my actions. Instead of letting Raigen coddle me, I should show him that I’d grown and matured so that he could retire without worries. I signed “Representative of Chou Tairan” at the end of the transportation report from the Ou family and placed it back into Hakurei’s box. We’d decided to both look through the documents on the off chance one of us missed something. “What about the paperwork you were supposed to handle? If you don’t stop practicing your archery soon, you won’t fin—”
“I finished everything this morning. We’re waiting on you.”
“What?!” I placed my pen on the inkstone. The second arrow found the straw dummy again, but hit the arm instead. I sighed, raising my voice in a theatrical lament. “I-Impossible! Why oh why do the heavens pamper you so, Chou Hakurei?! You have a talent for desk work on top of your gift for combat and natural good looks?! Ahh... This is a serious matter. I must object! But where...where should I even go to file my complaints?!”
“Instead of moving your mouth to tell your stupid jokes, please try moving your hand or else you’ll never finish that pile of paperwork. And here I thought you wanted to be a civil official.”
“Grr...” I couldn’t even say anything back because she was right, even if I didn’t like it. So with tears in my eyes, I went back to work. Though it was something I both took pride in and found frustrating, Chou Hakurei rivaled Ou Meirin when it came to raw talent. A third arrow hit the straw and this time it sunk into the dummy’s shoulder. While signing off on another document, I said, “It’s rare for you to miss the center of the target so many times. You feeling sick or something?”
Hakurei didn’t reply. Instead, she pulled back on the bowstring and then released it. The arrow struck true, landing right in the center of the target where the heart would be.
Huh? I noticed something. “Er, Miss Hakurei?”
“What is it?” Hakurei replied in a nonchalant tone. With the bow in one hand and her other hand busy untying the ribbon from her hair, she walked over and sat in the chair across from me.
Feeling slightly awkward, I lowered my gaze to the documents on the desk. “U-Um... I kind of get the feeling that, uh... Ah, no. Never mind. Yep. It was just a trick of my mind.”
“‘If one plans on effectively reducing the enemy’s manpower, then one must focus on increasing the number of wounded.’ One of the Twin Stars, Kou Eihou, was said to often repeat those words. If memory serves me right, someone I’m terribly familiar with does the same on both the practice grounds and the battlefield. Since you’re a better equestrian than me as well, I don’t think it’s so strange to copy the way you handle a bow?”
“O-Oh... Yeah, I suppose...” I managed, my gaze darting this way and that. It looked like she still had a grudge about how I’d won this morning’s race. Hakurei has more cumulative wins than me, though. She’s such a sore loser! As I struggled to come up with a way to worm out of my predicament, I saw Asaka walking towards us, her brown hair flowing behind her.
“Lady Hakurei, are you about ready?”
“Yes, I am. Please start the preparations.”
“Understood! ♪”
“Uh, what?” I had no idea what they were talking about, but I really didn’t have the time to be confused before other attendants came rushing over.
“Excuse me.”
“We’ll move this away for a little bit.”
“Lord Sekiei, please move out of the way!”
Before I could even bat an eye, they’d cleaned up the surface of my work table. In place of documents and pens, they put down a teapot decorated with cute flowers and birds. They set down cups with the same pattern as well, along with two small plates of sesame dumplings. All of the tableware were items that I’d sent to Hakurei from the capital. But she’s never used them before... I gave Hakurei a curious look, but her expression gave nothing away.
“I was getting thirsty. Don’t expect a share of tea. We didn’t prepare any for you.”
“And why’s that?!”
“Do you think you deserve to drink tea when you haven’t even finished your work for the day?”
“Grr... Y-You little...”
“I’m joking. Here you go,” Hakurei teased as she poured tea into one of the cups and handed it to me.
I thanked her with a nod of my head and took a sip. The taste was refreshing and helped me relax, putting me in a better mood. Birds flew overhead and the weather was nice. I looked back at Hakurei and saw her eating one of the dumplings, her movements elegant and refined.