“I—I haven’t decided yet,” she stammered.
“Hmm. That’s fine, but I think you still have something to say to me,” he pressed.
“I don’t,” she answered, holding her chest. He had been asking that same question at every opportunity since their chat in the middle of the night. It was bad for her heart.
Arai looked like he was about to say something else, but Yae tossed more dried fruit in his mouth. Creases formed on his brow as he gave up any further questions and focused on eating the dried fruit. Relieved, Yae heard a voice from the ground say, “Hey, how’s it going?” She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Akanagi reach the top of the ladder.
“…You shouldn’t come over here. You might get infected,” Yae warned hesitantly. She had told the people of the village that they should do their best to stay away.
“My divine power gives me a resistance to illness and impurity,” he answered. His divine power actually made it more dangerous for him to be here, but he wouldn’t listen. He sat down on the nearest rib, facing them. “Will this really heal Elder Hotaru? …Actually, I can see the number of corpse bugs has decreased. You’re doing a good job. Though now that I look at him… Most of his organs have already dried and turned to wood.” There was sadness in his eyes.
“Oh, you’re right. This is pointless. We should quit now,” Arai answered coldly in Yae’s place. She grabbed a fistful of dried fruits and stuffed them into Arai’s mouth to teach him a lesson. She saw no regret on his face as he savored the taste. Akanagi gave him a light glare and quickly returned his eyes to Yae.
“…I know we’ve given you a difficult job. To be honest, I think you’ve done more than enough just by calming Elder Hotaru,” he said.
“I bet. The last thing you all want is for him to go berserk and escape the village,” Arai piped up again. Yae stuffed another fistful of dried fruits into his mouth to shut him up… Hold on, was this what he was after?
“Exactly,” Akanagi responded, agreeing without a fight this time. “It would big a big help if he stayed calm.”
“That’s right. Death would be a favorable outcome as well.” This time, the response was not from Arai. It hadn’t come from Yae, either. Yae looked down and saw Hoodori, who was climbing up one of the ladders and carrying a small old man on his shoulders who looked to be two hundred years old. It was the old man who had spoken. He was wearing a hat with earmuffs and a thick cotton robe despite the summer heat.
“Recovery would be best, of course. But death works, too. If he dies, we will no longer have to worry about him growing violent,” the old man said with a dry, unfeeling voice. Hoodori glanced at Yae and the others, grabbed a thick vine entwined around a bone, and nimbly moved next to Akanagi. He set the old man down beside them.
“I am Tamao, Miya Province’s previous chief. They call me one of the elders now, but I’m really just a retired old geezer.” He spoke candidly about himself, but Yae didn’t sense any bitterness, and he wasn’t unpleasant to listen to. Tamao understood well that his advanced age allowed him some cruelty and self-deprecation. “Your name is Yae, correct? My, my… You truly don’t have any scent.”
“I’m Natureless,” Yae responded. Tamao didn’t hesitate to bring up the topic that everyone had been politely avoiding since she arrived in Miya Province.
“She doesn’t stink, so what should it matter? Not that some weak geezer like you would understand,” Arai snapped.
Yae was unsure if she should be pleased by his objection or not. I think he was defending me, but I wish he would stop calling everyone other than himself a weakling. She felt Hoodori and Akanagi giving her nervous glances and forced a smile.
Tamao nodded in agreement without a hint of anger at Arai’s words. He was either very tolerant or totally unaffected by criticism from others. “Hmm, it’s disappointing, though. I thought if you possessed a Gentle Nature like the other women, you would be suitable for the chief’s second wife.”
“Huh?!” Arai and Akanagi exclaimed simultaneously.
“Watch yourself, pip-squeak. Hey, Yae, can I chuck this geezer halfway across the village?” Arai asked menacingly.
“Elder Tamao, don’t joke like that. The women from Kaki Province were sent here on Miya Province’s request. She may be Natureless, but we can’t ask her to be a second wife. Even if she’d be married to the chief, number two is still number two,” Akanagi protested.
Tamao ignored their angry looks and inclined his head. In addition to his hat, he was wearing a veil that extended down to his nose, so Yae couldn’t really tell what he looked like. She could, however, see the long white beard covering his chin. Tamao stroked it with a thin, twiglike hand.
“I’m surprised Kaki Province was willing to give you up. You may not have divine power, but your soul is shockingly smooth. And on top of that, you have something very frightening protecting you, binding you hand and foot.” His head moved slightly in Arai’s direction, but then his gaze seemed to return to Yae. “So who will it be? Akanagi or Hoodori?”
Yae was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but she wasn’t able to answer right away. That was a difficult question.
“Hoodori doesn’t have divine power. His abilities as an elebeast are also nothing remarkable. He has wings, but he can’t use them to fly,” Tamao said. Out of the corner of her eye, Yae saw Hoodori look down, and she was filled with anxiety. She wished Tamao wouldn’t say things like that with Hoodori sitting right there, but the old man didn’t seem to care. “But his intuition is so good it may as well be considered foresight. He has good long-distance vision as well, and even the most talented elebeasts can’t match him. It was thanks to him that we were able to locate you. His skill as a warrior is apparent. We would not have allowed a weak man to claim a bride from outside.”
His mouth, visible beneath the hem of the veil, twisted into a smile.
“As for Akanagi, well, just look at him. Handsome, isn’t he? And he possesses divine power despite his Wild Nature. He could have become a chief someday were he not born too soon. The current chief is still young, and his younger brother is a remarkable man as well. Unless some unforeseen disaster occurs, it is unlikely Akanagi will ever be chief.”
“How many times do I have to say it? I don’t have any interest in that,” Akanagi responded angrily, but Tamao paid him no mind. He spoke only to Yae.