“You’re Yae of Kaki Province?” he asked in a sharp voice that could hardly be called friendly. There were no surnames in this world. When giving your name, you combined it with the province you lived in. Momoi was Yae’s surname in her previous life, but she had never used it here. She only used her given name.
“Who’s that man?” He looked at Arai standing next to her. “So you had a lover long before you were ever supposed to marry into our province. Guess giving us a used-up whore like you is Kaki Province’s way of showing Miya Province how they really feel about us. Unbelievable…” He spat this scathing remark while regarding Yae out of the corner of his eye.
Arai, who had been standing with his arms crossed in irritation, moved to position Yae behind him and glared icy daggers at the boy. “Huh? Who do you think you are, you fucking brat? That’s no way to speak to a lady. Should I cut out that filthy tongue of yours?”
Yae was grateful he was defending her, but that was really vulgar!
“What? You wanna repeat that?!” the boy responded venomously, and the green-eyed man stepped in to stop him. Yae also grabbed the heavenly raiment around Arai’s shoulders and pulled him toward her.
“Please forgive his crass remarks. I am Hoodori of Miya Province. His name is Akanagi… You are Yae, correct?” This green-eyed man, Hoodori, was clearly the more skilled conversationalist between the two of them.
“Yes,” Yae responded, wary of where this discussion would lead. There was sincerity in his eyes as he looked at her. The interlocking circles of his ring crest were motionless; it was rare for crests to move like Arai’s and Sui’s.
“So this is what you look like,” he said with a sigh. Yae cocked her head in confusion, but then comprehension dawned. They were both wearing veils on that day and only saw each other’s eyes. “I was to be your husband.”
Yae’s voice caught in her throat, then she responded with a soft “I see.” The past tense meant that the arrangement was off.
“I won’t make any excuses. It wasn’t right of me to leave you behind like that, but I don’t think it was a mistake, either. It was a decision made to prevent the entire group from being killed,” he continued.
Yae couldn’t respond. She didn’t think she could accept that. They think their actions were justifiable, but it was just plain evil to me. Hoodori was probably fully aware of that already, of how Yae would feel.
Wild Natures typically had strong combat instincts. When placed in a critical situation, they decided immediately what they should abandon and what they should protect and acted on it. For that reason, his claim that it was neither right nor a mistake wasn’t that unreasonable. Yae might even have been able to accept it if she hadn’t been the one sacrificed. This is really hard. The truth was all the more painful for Yae with her desire to be needed.
“The hell are you saying, asshole?” Arai suddenly spat. He used a hand to lift Yae’s head, which she had unconsciously lowered, and glared directly at Hoodori. “Don’t make excuses for your own weakness and then expect Yae to go along with it. Just tell it like it is. You abandoned her because you decided she was worthless. There’s nothing else to it.”
“Way to dig at my deepest anxieties…,” Yae said, shocked. Was this tiger man trying to humiliate her even more?
“…Hey, you’re the one who’s going too far,” growled the red-eyed boy—Akanagi—in a deep voice. There was real malice in his eyes.
“I only spoke the truth. He left her behind because he was weak. That’s his own fault. It doesn’t matter if what he did was a mistake or not,” Arai declared plainly.
“You bastard…” Akanagi seethed.
“But I’m strong,” Arai boasted. “I’m strong, and I would never abandon Yae. Her worth and her Nature don’t matter.” He let go of Yae’s chin and pat her on the head, using way too much strength. “Even if she was useless, what you should do then is help her grow. No one in this world is truly worthless.”
Yae ground her molars. Arai’s words satisfied her desire for approval from others. That made her happy, but the fact that he once tried to kill her was like a spoonful of mud in her heart.
“…Nice lecture, old man. I’m just about ready to fall asleep,” Akanagi said, intending to provoke. Arai scowled, clearly angry now. “Is this guy really your secret lover? He’s clearly not from Kaki Province,” he questioned Yae fiercely without taking his eyes off Arai.
Arai glared at him, vertical creases forming between his brows. He had the expression of a menacing beast. “I don’t see why I should politely introduce myself to some wuss whose bark is worse than his bite.”
“Hey, Arai! Let’s stay calm!” Yae said, raising her voice in panic. He really was foulmouthed. His words had put all thoughts of the past out of her mind in an instant.
Arai glanced down at Yae, oblivious to the situation. “Huh? What are you so down about? You never would’ve gotten me if this spineless coward hadn’t abandoned you, right? You should be celebrating. Come on, be happy.”
Spineless coward. She wondered how many people would have the guts to announce they were happy after hearing a rant like that in such a dicey situation. Yae went pale, hoping he would shut his mouth, but Arai ignored her and threw out his chest.
“…Who is he?” Hoodori asked Yae, unable to hide his suspicion. He looked more concerned about Arai’s temperament than his identity.
Yae groaned internally. She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but explaining would be difficult. Arai was a golden tiger elebeast whom she originally met as Kuroashi during a ceremony. He’d likely originated as some kind of god of exceptional divinity in another world, and he had been sealed in a stone monument together with Lady Bihin. There was no way they would believe her if she said all that.
“You two sure are persistent… I’m Arai, and I belong to Yae,” Arai answered in annoyance, pointing his thumb at her. Yae gasped.
“Arai, don’t…”
“Yae set me free, body and soul. That’s why as long as light remains in my eyes, I kneel to her. Yae is my life.” Yae was speechless, and Hoodori and Akanagi stared in mute amazement. Arai spoke boldly, without a hint of shame. “My soul is bound in service to her, so any insult against Yae is an insult against me. You’d best remember that.”
Arai was causing an embarrassing misunderstanding. The two men looked at Yae dubiously, doubtlessly wondering what kind of sordid affair she and Arai were involved in. By “body and soul,” Arai had only meant that she cleansed him of impurity and freed him, but his wording was horrible. They must think I’m some kind of pervert…
Yae forced herself to speak. “…Um. We met on the day of the wedding procession. He happened to be passing through the forest after you left me behind, and he saved me. It’s true that he’s strong…extraordinarily so, but as you can see, he’s a little eccentric. Please don’t take what he says seriously.”
“Who are you calling eccentric?” Arai pouted, but Yae didn’t look at him.
“After he saved me…I couldn’t show my face back home, since I had betrayed the chief’s expectations… And when I was troubled about what to do next, Arai found this place for me. He doesn’t have a place to return to, either, so we’ve been living here together,” she continued, explaining their current situation without letting Arai share any unnecessary details. She didn’t trust Hoodori and Akanagi, so there was no need to tell them everything.
“He doesn’t have a place to return to? What province is he from?” Akanagi asked, plainly skeptical.
“He lived independently from the provinces,” Yae answered quickly, and she decided to ask her own question before they could pursue that topic any further. “I was planning on going back to visit Kaki Province when the opportunity arose… But anyway, why have you two approached us so many times? Shouldn’t I be as good as dead to you?”
They’d left her as a decoy to the shades, so they should have assumed she was dead. Maybe they set out to find her body, to at least hold a memorial service, and got word from a peddler who had contact with Arai and Sui. It wasn’t impossible to imagine that Chief Kadaru had requested a search…but that possibility felt slim.