A year had passed since I started living at Old Gon’s dojo.
Though I couldn’t say I had mastered them perfectly, I had learned the blacksmithing techniques of Fusou well enough that with a bit of effort, I could figure out the rest on my own. I had quite a bit of experience blacksmithing at this point, so I just needed to put it to use. I wasn’t a student at the forge, but just a guest, so if I could figure it out on my own, I felt I should.
I heard many, many stories from Mizuyo. As knowledgeable as she was, there were still limits to the stories she could tell. Those days, we spent most of our time idly chatting as we stared at the moon.
But above all, I didn’t want to steal any more time from her and Old Gon than I had to. The presence of a stranger named Acer had already been clearly etched into their stories. There was a part of me that wanted to see their relationship through with my own eyes, though.
I suspected Mizuyo had come here to look after Old Gon. Well, maybe that wasn’t quite it. Perhaps it was more accurate to say she wanted to spend these last moments as close to him as possible, so she could engrave his memory clearly into her heart, just as I had done with Kaeha. I couldn’t bring myself to get in the way of that. Because I could empathize with her so strongly, I knew that no matter how much I wanted to stay, it would be tasteless of me to do so.
But I didn’t know Old Gon’s thoughts on the matter. Why had he brought me to the dojo and introduced me to Mizuyo? Why had he insisted I stay here so long? The current head of Old Gon’s dojo wasn’t one of his children, but his most accomplished student. He didn’t have any children of his own, apparently.
Because I had grown to like them so much, I decided it was time to leave the dojo. If the two of them had another ten or twenty years, having me around for another couple years might have been a good experience for them...but I knew that when humans got old, that clock could run down extremely fast.
I could understand Mizuyo’s feelings far more than Old Gon’s.
She would continue to live for a long time, carrying the memories of this time forward with her.
So it was about time for me to set out.
“What? You’re leaving already? Why not stay here and relax for a while longer?” Old Gon asked in response to the news.
He was really a troublesome old guy. He didn’t need me to say it, but I thought he’d be better off if he was more honest with his feelings.
But this was about him and Mizuyo, not me. There was no need for me to interfere. I didn’t know how much time they had left. All that mattered was that they treasured that time together.
“I’ve relaxed plenty. If I stick around much longer, I’m going to start growing roots. I need to go see the Fusou Tree before I get stuck in place. Old Gon, Mizuyo, thank you for your hospitality. I appreciated it a lot.”
I smiled as I bid them farewell. Maybe not for Mizuyo, but this was most likely the last Old Gon and I would ever see of each other. We didn’t say it out loud, but it was something we both understood. Chance had crossed our paths and given birth to a great friendship, but the times and places we lived in were just too different.
If we had met earlier, I imagined he would be the kind of friend I would have spent a great deal of time with. Though actually, that would have meant I would have had a lot less time to spend with Kaeha...so I guess it never would have happened.
“We can avoid the whirlpool, or wrap it around ourselves for protection. So go ahead and live true to yourself. We already know well how good of a person you are, Acer.”
Mizuyo’s goodbye was an exhortation for me to follow whichever path I would choose. No matter what impact I’d have on Fusou, they would adapt and overcome, she was saying. Old Gon rolled his eyes as if she was making a big deal out of nothing, but I was grateful for her consideration.
That said, I also thought she was exaggerating a bit. At least for now, I had no intention of doing something as drastic as splitting the island of Fusou in two. Rather, if things had struck a balance already, I was more inclined to keep out entirely.
Of course, there was no guarantee that balance would be maintained forever. In the same way the hero Takato had rallied the southern kingdom, a hero born among the oni could easily shatter the current stalemate. But there was no reason for me to worry about a future like that. The oni might be powerful, but the humans, skyfolk, and merfolk were anything but weak. Even if their front line was overwhelmed for a time, I was sure they’d find a way to stay in the fight.
“This is my thanks for all you’ve done for me, Mizuyo. I’ll let you decide how you want to use it.” Finally, I handed Mizuyo one of the Mystic Peaches I had brought from the Ancient Gold Empire. I was sure she understood the meaning behind my gesture. If she used it right, she could win a little more time for her and Old Gon.
I hoped the two of them would reach a conclusion they both found satisfying. If I met Mizuyo again someday, I’d have to hear that story.
Leaving Outo, I traveled straight north. This road, leading to the front lines of the war, was called Soldier’s Road. It carried many more people north than it did south. Yet there was no sorrow in the faces traveling alongside me, and none who watched them go did so with pity. That was the strength of the people of Fusou. It was up to them to decide whether that was tragic or worthy of celebration, and it seemed like the people here had decided it was the latter. That was the way they lived.
I walked alone down that road, occasionally digressing quite a bit off the path to avoid interacting with the other travelers. I had no intention of visiting the city of Chinju that lay at the end of this road. Only those who hoped to be soldiers giving their lives to protect Fusou, or those hired as mercenaries to fight alongside them, could enter that place, and I qualified as neither. I had no desire at all to be sucked into their army and ordered around. All I wanted was to see the Fusou Tree beyond them.