Haruyoshi didn’t answer the sudden question.
“I understand that, given his position, visiting the most powerful exorcist’s estate would make it seem like he was plotting something, but surely there’s no harm in you visiting him. You used to be so close. Why have you been avoiding him?”
“No real reason. It’s just a little awkward,” Haruyoshi muttered uncomfortably. “In the end, I couldn’t do anything to help him.”
“That’s not true. I’m sure just having a friend who didn’t care about his status brought him some comfort. If anything, you were too arrogant in thinking you had to help the pitiful emperor, Haruyoshi. My brother’s life isn’t your responsibility.”
“I know,” said Haruyoshi, his voice thick with sorrow. “It’s a matter of my own feelings.”
A faintly melancholic silence settled over the room.
“The world has things that are beyond our control.”
“You’ve got that right. There are too many things even sorcery can’t fix.” The two shared a bitter smile.
“And it’s those feelings that imayou is all about. What do you say, Haruyoshi? Care to join me for a verse?”
“No thanks. I’m no good at singing.” Haruyoshi waved his hand and sighed. “It’s almost morning. We’ve been talking for too long.”
Masahito looked out the window and found that it was still quite dark. Nonetheless, he suspected Haruyoshi was correct.
“You should take a nap until your escort arrives.”
“You’re probably right.” Masahito acted as though he was thinking it over, but he had no intention of actually doing so. Then he pulled a small box out of his pocket as if he had just remembered it. “That reminds me, I had something I wanted to talk to you about, Haruyoshi.”
“What is it?” Haruyoshi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“There’s something I wanna lay to rest.” Masahito pulled something out of the box and handed it to Haruyoshi. “This.” Haruyoshi grabbed it and held it in front of his eyes.
“A ring?”
“Around ten years ago, a merchant who claimed to have come from China was selling it. I gave in to my curiosity and bought the ring, then completely forgot about it. I happened to find it again the other day. Since I no longer had anyone to give it to, I thought I’d get rid of it, but then I started to worry that it might be some sort of cursed object.”
“There’s a lot I’d like to say about that, but continue.”
“Some cursed objects come back when you throw them away and cause disaster, right? I’d just like to make sure it doesn’t cause me any trouble, so I wanted to ask if you had any safe ways of disposing of it.”
“I want to know why you bought something so shady to begin with.” Haruyoshi looked at the ring for a moment. “I don’t feel any power coming from it,” he finally said. “It’s not a cursed object. You can throw it away however you want.”
“You need to give me more than that to work with,” Masahito objected, his face completely serious. “What if something happens, however unlikely it is?”
“I really don’t think—”
“You can never be too careful.”
“Seriously?” Haruyoshi looked annoyed, but Masahito just pointed at the ring.
“You see that engraving? Is that not some kind of spell?”
“This? Hmm...” The ring’s top was flat and had foreign letters carved into it.
“Can you read it? The merchant said the ring was from Persia, but I don’t think that’s Persian.”
“It’s not. It looks like Latin,” Haruyoshi said, lightly rubbing the ring. “Latin is widely used, so I can’t say exactly where this ring is from, but at the very least, it isn’t from Persia. This engraving isn’t a spell either.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a prayer. The owner of this ring was a Christian. Likely a Chinese Nestorian.”
“Ah, so it was a Nestorian ware.”
Christianity wasn’t well-known in Japan at this time. People had only heard of it through books brought from China, which told of a faith practiced in the West.
“Well, if it concerns the gods, then that’s all the more reason to dispose of it properly. What should I do? Do they burn stuff like this in the West too?”
“No, I’ve never heard of that. I don’t believe they hold memorial services for objects there.”
“Then what if I dispose of it in a way related to the god it’s tied to? Like throwing it into the sea for a sea god, or burying it in the mountains for a mountain god. That sort of method is used to neutralize cursed objects a lot, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it’s mostly a matter of the sorcerer’s feelings—it doesn’t actually serve much purpose. This also isn’t a cursed object to begin with. In addition, the Christian God is an almighty deity, so there isn’t any natural feature associated with—” Haruyoshi suddenly cut himself off, then pondered for a moment. “Actually, now that I think about it, I’ve heard that Judaism, the faith from which Christianity originated, was initially polytheistic, much like Shinto. The almighty god Yahweh, who is worshipped in Christianity as well, was originally a god of volcanoes if I recall correctly.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” Masahito said cheerfully. “We’ve got a fine volcano here in Japan, don’t we?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go toss this ring into Mt. Fuji, Haruyoshi.”
“Excuse me?” Haruyoshi’s mouth hung open. “You want me to come too?”
“Absolutely. Who’s more suitable to accompany me on a trip to dispose of a holy relic than you?”
“How do you intend to get there?”
“Climbing on foot would be too much work. Let me ride your ryuu. I’ve always wanted to try it.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Haruyoshi said, dumbfounded. “You think I’d summon Mizuchi for this?”
“So it’s out of the question?”
“I didn’t say that, but...”
“Please, Haruyoshi,” Masahito said with a grin. “You’re the only one I can turn to.”
“I’d advise you not to spoil him too much, Master Haruyoshi.” A high-pitched voice echoed through the room. A woman had been standing there without anyone noticing. Muttering with a sullen expression, she began tidying up the scattered flasks and cups around the room. “He may have the emperor’s blood, but treating you like some stable hand is unacceptable.”
Her skin and hair were both snow-white, and she had large eyes and a high nose. There was something inhuman about her beauty, giving her a frightening presence. Indeed, she wasn’t human at all—she was one of the ayakashi under Haruyoshi’s command. At first, Masahito had been taken aback by her, but as he’d gotten to know her, he found her speech and mannerisms to be endearing, almost like a small animal.
“Don’t be so harsh, Yuki,” Masahito said with a smile. “People feel good when their friends rely on them. Haruyoshi is no different.”
“Hrm, that’s true, but...”
“Don’t go deciding that I’m happy. Yuki, why are you agreeing with him?” Haruyoshi said with a frown.
“Ha ha ha! How about it, Haruyoshi?” Masahito asked.
“Fine,” Haruyoshi sighed. “We leave when the sun rises.”
“I thought you’d say that, my friend. Guess I’ll take a nap until then.”