When they reached Jakuho’s house, Senri barely wasted any time resting and began writing some letters instead. He wrote a report to Koshun as well as a letter to Jusetsu—even if, as far as he knew, she was still asleep.
“It’s best that I keep His Majesty regularly updated,” he said. “And I know the Raven Consort won’t be able to read it, but still.” “You never know. She might have woken up by now,” said Shiki.
Senri laughed. Hearing Shiki say it made it feel like it could be true.
Shiki needed to write a report for Koshun as well. He took a brush and an inkstone out of the writing bag he carried with him.
The room that Jakuho had prepared for him to stay in was spacious and bright. Homes on Je Island had raised floors, presumably to keep the humidity out, and were made out of locally sourced cedar. The windows and doors were large, which kept the houses well ventilated. Just like the other houses here, Jakuho’s home was surrounded by tile-topped walls intended to protect it against the wind, but it wasn’t a noticeably luxurious property. There were no expensive furnishings—in fact, it was extremely plain inside. It was strikingly clear that Jakuho hadn’t been using his power to line his own pockets. The port was well-organized, and there was no sign of discontent among the population. The island was full of life. That said, Shiki only arrived earlier that day, so he was sure there were many sides to it he was still yet to see.
Shiki picked up his brush. I need to tell him I saw Hakurai.
Why was that man, of all people, on this island? I’d prefer to believe that nothing bad is going to come of this, he thought to himself—but upon realizing how similar that was to what the old lady from the Sho family said earlier, the bad feeling he had only intensified.
“Do you get the impression that some sort of disaster is going to unfold here?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t know,” Senri answered bluntly. “But the fact remains that there’s something unusual happening in the sea. We need to keep that in mind.”
The sea had gotten rougher, and bodies had stopped washing up on the shore. These weren’t vague premonitions—they were facts. Senri made a proper distinction between the two.
“Going by the story that the Sho woman shared, the underwater volcano did erupt a thousand years ago—which also happens to be when Ikahi Island sank because of an eruption.”
“Both of those events occurred a thousand years ago?” Shiki asked.
“What else do you think happened one thousand years ago?” “Well…” Shiki tilted his head to one side in contemplation.
“That was right in the middle of the war years…”
“That’s right.” Senri had a faint smile on his face as he nodded. He seemed to enjoy these sorts of discussions. “It wasn’t just the people who were at war with each other. The gods were as well.”
“What?”
“Uren Niangniang and the ao god went to war against one other. The ferocity of that battle caused an eruption on Ikahi Island. The ao god sank in the western sea, and part of Uren Niangniang sank in the eastern sea—the sea that surrounds this island. To be more specific, the missing part of Uren Niangniang is thought to be near the underwater volcano.”
Shiki was stunned by what Senri was telling him, but at the same time, he didn’t find it that shocking. Senri was the Winter Minister, after all.
“We suspect that some sort of disaster may have occurred before Uren Niangniang’s missing part even sank,” Senri continued. “There are several legends thought to be about the underwater volcano on Je Island that suggest an eruption a thousand years ago. There’s a high likelihood that this is where her missing part sank.”
“In other words…you’re searching for the missing half of Uren Niangniang?”
“Exactly.”
“But why?” asked Shiki.
“So that we can save the Raven Consort.”
So that’s why we’re here, thought Shiki—but he still didn’t understand how finding the missing part of Uren Niangniang was going to save Jusetsu. Even so, he could now see the correlation between Senri’s goal and his actions.
“Only the Raven Consort can tell whether it’s definitely there. The Raven Consort will need to come here herself, but we can’t just call her here right away—I must ensure it’s safe for her first. That’s another reason why the irregularities in the sea are concerning.”
“Then we need to find out more about those irregularities,” said Shiki.
Senri stared intently at him. “What is it?” Shiki asked.
“Nothing… It’s just…you’re very quick to understand things and adapt to them. You always know what to prioritize. It’s immensely helpful.”
“That’s not true.”
Senri’s compliments made Shiki feel uneasy. He looked down at his hands. When he noticed the pale hand clutching onto his sleeve, it startled him.
Shiki averted his gaze. “There’s one thing I want to ask you about, since you’re the Winter Minister…”
“Yes?” Senri cocked his head, but swiftly straightened out his posture upon seeing how solemn Shiki was acting. “Go ahead.”
“I asked the Raven Consort’s help with this some time ago, but I’m being haunted by the ghost of my little sister. We weren’t related by blood, but she was still my sister. She was murdered, and the people who killed her were executed, but the person who drove them to do it is continuing to live his life unpunished. I hate him and want to get revenge—but my little sister’s ghost doesn’t want me to. The Raven Consort says it’s my fault she can’t go on to paradise as my hatred is holding her back. Do you think I should give up on getting my revenge? Do I have to stop resenting him?”
Shiki’s voice grew increasingly impassioned as he spoke. The image of that man below the headland flickered through his mind. I should have just run up to him, he thought—but at the same time, he didn’t want to cause his sister any more pain.
Senri stayed silent for quite some time. Eventually, though, he began to speak.
“First of all,” he said, “unlike the Raven Consort, I don’t know anything about ghosts. I can’t see them, and I can’t exorcise them either.”
Shiki was somewhat disappointed that this was his longawaited answer. “Right.”
“I can only go off what the Raven Consort herself says,” Senri said. “If you want to send your young sister to paradise, you must stop resenting that man. If you hold onto your hatred, that will be impossible. Those are the only two choices you have. That being said, whether you hate somebody isn’t a rational choice. You can suppress hatred with reason, but you cannot destroy it.”
“I understand…”
Senri continued. “Revenge, in contrast to hatred, is an action. Although you can make a rational decision about whether to pursue it, the connection between the two is so strong that reason may fail when you are actually faced with the person you loathe. To sum it up, it’s not a matter of whether you should abandon the idea of revenge or stop hating that man. This issue is far more difficult than that. You know that full well—you know what you should do, and yet you still can’t bring yourself to do it.”
Shiki took a deep breath in, then let it out. It was all so clear now—Senri had hit the nail on the head.
“The only thing you can do is accept your fate.” “My fate?” Shiki asked.
“Accept the fact that you won’t be able to send your sister to paradise. Not only are you unable to let go of your hatred, but you will continue to suffer as a result.”
Shiki held onto his arm. Could he really accept that? His sister would be tied down forever.
“If you don’t mentally prepare yourself for that, you won’t be able to act when it really matters.”
Coming from Senri, these words had some credibility to them. This was the man who was willing to surrender his own head for the sake of Jusetsu.
Shiki let out a small laugh. “Are you encouraging me to get my revenge?”
“I’m not encouraging it…” said Senri, a sad smile coming to his face, “but I know someone who stuck to his own volition, despite knowing they were on the wrong path—and ended up taking his own life as a result.”
Shiki looked at Senri, taken aback.
“If you’re going to follow your own will, then you need to be prepared for the consequences,” he added.
Senri then gave Shiki a very calm smile—one that left Shiki feeling so ashamed that he lowered his head in embarrassment.