Chapter 108

Shura understood her position and knew that Yamato needed her strength in the coming days. Kaguya was confident that she would make her peace and elect to fight for Yamato with everything she had. After expressing her faith in Shura… “And? What shall you do now that you know Yamato’s secret?” …Kaguya trained her gaze on Tsukasa without sparing a glance for where Shura had fled. “Will you inform the masses who serve me in ignorant bliss? Depending on how one looks at it, the imperial family’s system could be judged akin to Mayoi’s mind control.” “I certainly wasn’t planning on it,” Tsukasa replied, shaking his head. “In my opinion, there’s a big difference between the way Mayoi forcibly distorted people’s perceptions to serve her own ends and the simple act of selecting what information to release for the good of the public.” “Even if it doth mean sacrificing a helpless maiden?” “I certainly don’t feel good about your methods. Were I a Yamato citizen, I might be driven to action, but I’m not. I’m just a guy who’ll be leaving this world before too long. As one who doesn’t even live here, it would be ridiculous of me to upset any system that’s created a three-hundred-year-long era of peace and enjoys massive popular support merely to appease my personal feelings.” The way Tsukasa saw it, this sort of issue was best dealt with by the people it affected. He and the others had aided the People’s Revolution in Elm and the Resistance’s fight in Yamato, but they’d only gotten involved because people had asked them for help. Tsukasa wouldn’t have done a thing otherwise. This was no different from his abandoning Lyrule on the night the People’s Revolution began. A slight look of surprise crossed Kaguya’s face at Tsukasa’s answer. “Oh-ho. And here I was all but certain you would rebuke me.” If that wasn’t his plan, though, then why had he pried so deeply into Yamato’s secrets? Tsukasa gave that unspoken query an answer. “You mentioned sacrificing a helpless maiden, but…Princess Mayoi isn’t the only victim in your current setup.” “How so?” “Generations of your emperors forfeited their children to that fate, and when you have kids of your own someday, they will be subject to it as well. The way I see it, Princess Kaguya, your duty is no less cruel than Princess Mayoi’s.” “” “That’s what I wanted to ask you about. If you, a member of the imperial family who will be forced to sacrifice your own children, consider that a burden and wish to reform the system…then I’m willing to do everything I can to help you.” Tsukasa and Kaguya had been through enough together that they were more than strangers. If Kaguya felt trapped by her age-old customs and was struggling to escape them, Tsukasa was willing to help her to her feet. But only if she, as a victim, asked him to. Kaguya’s eyes had been still throughout the conversation, but when Tsukasa made his offer, they wavered like pools upset by tossed pebbles. The hesitation only lasted an instant, though. The ripples quickly subsided, and Kaguya responded in her same dignified tone. “I appreciate the sentiment, but the sentiment alone shall suffice. I am Yamato’s rightful heir, and unlike that fool who needed to do naught but die, my resolve is firm. The greatest good for the least cost. My father and mother shared that ideal, and the imperial family hath long held true to it. Flawed though it may be, it hath brought us the miracle of three hundred years of sustained peace, and I find that beautiful, as I do the Yamato that enjoys the fruits of that sacrifice. And this recent strife hath only tempered my feelings. There are those in this country who can survive nowhere but here, those who yearn deeply to live within these borders. It was the will of Yamato imperial families past that built us a history so beloved, and I intend to protect it until such a day comes when the people of Yamato themselves tear it down.” Kaguya was fine with devoting her life solely to that end. There was no doubt in her expression as she gave her answer. Pushing any further would be an imposition. “Fair enough.” Tsukasa nodded and stood. “Then I have nothing more to say. Thank you for clearing up my questions.” The Elm delegation’s business in Yamato was concluded. The rest was up to the nation’s people to deal with for themselves. Tsukasa turned and headed to leave the room, and Kaguya called out to him from behind. “I should think that you, of all people, would understand. For, like us, you try to bring about the greatest amount of good for the least cost.” Her voice no longer carried the dignified, unshakable resolve that it had a moment prior. Now it was tinged with something akin to sorrow. “So, as thanks for your concern, I shall give you a warning. The act of serving the masses in the hope of achieving the greatest good possible will end with you making sacrifices of yourself and those you care about. Humans can barely bring happiness to one, let alone a country. The more you try to save, the more shall slip through your fingers. This holds true for all, save inconceivable superhuman prodigies who bestow joy to all without the need for deception or pretense. “So bear this in mind. If, knowing that you are but a common man, you would still try to aid as many as you can, know, too, that not a soul shall be able to accompany you on the harsh path you tread. Should you keep walking it, then in time, those you call friends and those you may court will cease to understand you, just as I lost Shura…and Mayoi.” “” Tsukasa departed the tearoom and shut the door behind him. “………” The stifled sob Tsukasa heard through the door lingered in his ears for a long while. “You still wish to cling to equality? To suffer in pursuit of that absurd ideal? All while knowing what people are truly capable of?! Surely you suspect there must be another way! You must know that the more you try to save, the more it all slips through your fingers…?!” “Rgh…” Both her sob and her warning called to mind the curse Gustav had left Tsukasa with before his death. Tsukasa already knew that he was merely a man. Only a true prodigy could save everyone without forfeiting anything, and he understood that wasn’t him. Still, he’d sought more… “You killed your own father for ‘the people’? For complete strangers? You’re insane!” …and broken so many things in the process. Things that could never be repaired. Tsukasa didn’t need Kaguya’s warning. He’d understood all along. No one else would truly understand him. It was a long-accepted truth. However, the reality was…no such flawless prodigy existed. Nobody could have saved more people than he did. They wouldn’t have even tried. Thus, Tsukasa had no regrets. He regularly wondered if there were better choices he could have made, yet he never looked back and bemoaned his decisions. And he never intended to. But if—if—it turned out there was someone like Kaguya described, who could make everyone happy in the truest sense of the word without needing to set any price or needing to resort to deception… Would I be able to regret it then, I wonder? “…Hmm?” As Tsukasa walked through the remains of the inner castle, lost in thought, an object caught his attention, sparkling in the corner of his eye. At the bottom of the rubble heap, something small and shiny glinted like a needle in the soot and grit. Tsukasa wondered what it could be, and he stooped down and swept away the detritus piled atop it. When he uncovered the item… Is this what I think it is? …he gasped a little. Then, not a moment later… “Oh hey, we were looking for you!” …he heard a voice calling from behind. Shinobu and Ringo were hurrying over. “Ringo’s got something she wants to tell you!” Shinobu said. “Just now…I was…looking back through…the satellite data. And there’s…something…I noticed.” They must have been running around the perimeter of the castle’s remnants searching for him, as Ringo’s speech was more faltering than usual on account of her labored breathing. Tsukasa… “Sharing your findings won’t be necessary.” …dismissed the girl’s worry, however. “Whatever you saw on that satellite feed doesn’t change the fact that the battle between the Seven Luminaries and the Yamato self-governing dominion is over. Our work here is done.” “Oh…” “Tsukes, are you…crying?” Shinobu asked. “I got a little soot in my eye, that’s all.” Tsukasa awkwardly deflected the question and reached into his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief. With it, he scooped up the pure-white sword shard from the ground, wrapped it up, and tucked it safely in his breast pocket. This was no time to get hung up on questions that didn’t have answers. All the people of this world had things they wanted to protect, and Tsukasa and his fellow Prodigies were no different. The philosophical quandaries could wait…until they were home. And if they hoped to make that trip… “Shinobu, I want you to pass this along to the others. At dawn tomorrow, we’re leaving Azuchi and heading for the hidden elf village. Our strange journey across this world has taken us far and wide…but this next stop should be our last.” …it was time to get a move on. Their destination was all but in sight.