Recognizing that the local functionaries must have been in a difficult position, Jusetsu came to a stop. And among the crowd was a young man who stood frozen to the spot, dazed. She realized she knew his face—though he looked unwell and extremely tired, there was no way it was anyone else.
Jusetsu walked up to the young man and began to speak to him, though she couldn’t recall his name. “Aren’t you…the eldest son of the Saname clan?”
The young man turned around. As he stared at Jusetsu—wide-eyed with surprise—she realized he looked even paler from close up.
Is he seasick? Jusetsu wondered to herself. Or has something even worse happened?
The young man placed his hands together in front of his chest and bowed to her.
“You don’t look very well,” Jusetsu muttered after taking a long, hard look at his face.
The man pressed his hands against his cheeks. It seemed more serious than seasickness.
I’m sure I remember his name… Jusetsu thought. Shin. That was it—Shin.
Shin was supposed to have gone to see his father, Choyo, on Koshun’s orders. Considering how many days had passed, the fact that he was here in Ko Province indicated he was on his way back to the imperial capital.
Did something happen in Ga Province…?
“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.”
If there was something Shin urgently needed to tell Koshun, the quickest way to do that would be through the Owl. That was one reason why Jusetsu invited Shin along, but there was another, even more important reason.
“It’s good to drink tea when you’re tired,” she added.
The man definitely looked like he needed some relief. Jusetsu didn’t even wait for a response before beginning to charge ahead, but Shin obediently followed along, nonetheless.
The provincial governor’s house was just a short distance from the port. It was his official residence, as opposed to being his private home. The eruption kept the provincial governor so busy that he could only offer them a brief welcome before going on his way, but his new visitors still received courteous hospitality. They were brought plentiful quantities of tea, alcohol, snacks, and other light refreshments to enjoy—likely because he assumed they were the emperor’s emissaries.
“Ko Province’s governor is well-respected for his shrewd nature, so that should be of some comfort to people,” explained Sai. He stuffed his cheeks with baozi steamed buns—he was surprisingly unrestrained in the way that he ate.
Jusetsu placed a container of baozi and snacks in front of Shin and offered him some tea. “Drink it before it goes cold,” she said.
Shin said nothing and took a sip, wrapping both of his hands around the cup as if in an attempt to warm them up.
“Have you had breakfast?” Jusetsu then asked.
“No…”
“Eat this, then. Do you like sweet things?” Jusetsu peeled apart the bamboo sheath that encased one of the rice dumplings, put it in front of Shin, and transferred the sweet insides onto a plate.
Jiujiu watched in fascination from a nearby seat. “You’re taking care of somebody else, niangniang.”
“I am capable of it, you know. I just have to follow you and Kajo’s examples.”
“Oh yes—that is a very Kajo thing to do.”
As Shin drank tea and ate a rice dumpling, the color began to return to his face.
“Jiujiu, could you get us some more tea?” Jusetsu requested.
“Of course,” Jiujiu said with a smile.
Once she had left the room, Jusetsu called out to the star raven. “Owl!”
The bird, which had been sitting on Tankai’s head, flew over and perched on the chair beside her.
“Is that…really an owl?” Shin asked dubiously.
“No, it’s a star raven,” she replied, which only left Shin looking even more confused.
Jusetsu stared at the man, relieved to see him glancing at the others as he turned things over in his head. She took it as a sign that he’d regained some degree of energy, at least. He was probably going to be all right.
“What happened in Ga Province?” she asked.
Shin’s face grew tense.
“If there’s something you want to tell Koshun, saying it here would be the fastest way to get the message to him,” Jusetsu explained. “Go ahead.”
“Koshun…?” Shin murmured. In the next moment, he gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. “H-His Majesty? Why would it be quicker? I’d rather tell His Majesty directly…” Shin sounded confused.
“Think of this as a magic way to reach him. Koshun’s listening,” she said. It was a simple explanation, but it would only confuse him if she explained the whole thing in detail.
“Huh?” Shin was baffled.
Jusetsu could tell that she was dealing with a sincere yet inflexible man.
“I’m here as an emissary under the emperor’s direct command,” she explained. “I’m working as his ritual coordinator. What I hear, Koshun hears too. You can communicate with him through me.”
“Raven Consort… Are you telling me that you’ll send an expedited messenger to him on my behalf?” Shin asked.
“Well, I suppose you could put it like that… Just think of my words as his,” Jusetsu responded with a nod. It seemed that Shin was even more rigid in his way of thinking than she initially suspected.
“All right,” he said. “Pass this message onto His Majesty. Saname Choyo has sent an emissary to the tribes of the Northern Mountains. That emissary is his second son, Ko. That should tell His Majesty everything he needs to know.”
Jusetsu looked down at the star raven, but the bird blinked sleepily.
“Koshun said, ‘Understood,’” the Raven relayed to Jusetsu. “That’s what the Owl passed along. Yozetsu Jikei is heading to the Northern Mountains too. There’s no need to worry.”
Jusetsu looked back at Shin. “All right. Let me tell you his response… The salt and iron envoy, Yozetsu Jikei, is on his way to the Northern Mountains. Jikei has contacts there, so things will probably be fine. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“But Ko…” Shin hung his head, holding it in his hands. “Is there any chance he could save Ko? He’s my younger brother…”
Jusetsu paused. “You can rely on Jikei for that.”