By the time dawn came around, the house had burned down entirely. White smoke drifted up into the darkness, and the remains of the house—now ash—were only vaguely discernable. There was no sign of Shin’s father, and strangely enough, nobody had rushed over to watch the fire.
Shin was still there, standing around, and he heard the winter breeze whooshing past. However, something wasn’t right—there was no wind here.
A thicket shook, and inside, he could make out a pair of eyes that seemed to glow. He was surprised, but the owner of the eyes was too and seemed to flee right away.
Was that a monkey, or another wild animal? Or…
Shin began to wander aimlessly. Unsteady on his feet, he descended from the mountain and then carried on down the road. The sun was only starting to rise on the edge of the mountain, so there weren’t any people walking down the road. It was a large one, and one the Saname clan had built. It had always made Shin feel so proud, but now, he found it horrendously loathsome. He felt like he was walking over thorns.
Shin was headed in the opposite direction from the Saname residence and going toward the port. His plan was to go to the imperial capital. He needed to tell Koshun that his mission was complete.
I’m never coming back here again.
His father might have expected him to return. He probably even thought it was a given that he’d come back in the end. After all, Shin was going to become the next head of the Saname clan.
If he thinks I’m ever going to return to this land, he’s mistaken.
Shin gazed out at the sea, with its water glowing in the dawn sun, waiting for a boat to come and take him away.
✦ ✦ ✦
It took about three days for the boat to reach the port of Ko Province from Ga Province. To continue on to the imperial capital, he would have to sail upstream and traverse through the waterways. When Shin disembarked, he noticed how noisy his surroundings were. Before he had time to question it, he noticed something strange out at sea. People had probably been making a ruckus about it before the boat he was on made it to shore, but he was in too deep a sleep to notice.
There was smoke rising from the water. It might have looked more like clouds than smoke.
“It’s an eruption!” he heard somebody cry out.
The underwater volcano had apparently erupted. Its intensity was varying, but the volcano was showing no signs of calming down. There were mixed reports about how long it had been going on—some said three days, while others said five. When Shin looked carefully, he could make out something resembling a red beach on the opposite shore, near the coast of Je Island. Further still, small, black, island-like structures were appearing in the area where the eruption was happening. Someone was explaining to the others around Shin that the erupting lava had solidified and was gradually turning into new land masses, and these “islands” were steadily growing bigger.
All the people who were watching the eruption from the shore had faces tinged with worry. It looked like ash from the eruption was landing on this very shore as well. The ground beneath Shin’s feet definitely looked a bit whitish.
Shin thought about it, and imagined the land masses spreading out even further, and the lava spreading all the way between here and the island. It was a terrifying thought.
Does His Majesty know about this?
Of course he would—he obviously must have been notified some time ago. When Shin surveyed his surroundings properly, he noticed some panicked-looking officials nearby, as well as some local militia.
The flow of passenger boats to and from Je Island seemed to have come to a halt, but those heading to the imperial capital were still running. Even so, all the vessels were packed full of people trying to flee the area, and the destination port was already at capacity.
What am I supposed to do?
As Shin tried to come up with a plan, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.
“Aren’t you…the eldest son of the Saname clan?”
He turned around with a start at the sweet yet clear voice. It was Jusetsu.
Why would she be in a place like this?
Her black hair was tied up at the back of her head, and she was dressed in a man’s robe. Next to her were two handsome young men, also dressed in robes, and a military officer who was presumably there for her protection.
Raven Consort, Shin almost found himself saying, but he held his tongue.
Thinking it’d be too conspicuous if he were to get to his knees, he sidled up to her and gave her a small bow.
Jusetsu took a long look at his face. “You don’t look very well,” she said simply.
Shin placed his hands against his cheeks. He knew he must have looked dreadful.
Jusetsu gracefully pointed toward the town with the tip of her shoe. “Boats aren’t able to sail to Je Island for the time being, so the provincial governor from Ko Province has invited us to his home. Let’s go and have some tea.” It sounded like she was indirectly inviting Shin along. “It’s good to drink tea when you’re tired.”
The young woman didn’t ask any questions—she just addressed Shin with a simple statement and proceeded to go on her way. The sight of Jusetsu’s diminutive frame walking ahead confidently ignited a surge of emotion within him.
He wanted to fall straight down on his knees, prostrate himself in front of her, and cling to her legs.
As his vision slowly began to blur, Shin simply looked up at the sky to stop the tears from running down his face.