“In modern day as in times past.”
They still didn’t have a particularly friendly relationship. He just didn’t bite and threaten her like before. The muddiness in his eyes had vanished, and the miasma had been expunged as well. His coat was even nice and fluffy because Yae brushed it on occasion.
…They may not have been friendly, but despite his coldness, Yae knew that Kuroashi had kept her strong. Her past memories had helped her often in this life, but they also made her feel estranged from society. The way her intelligence surpassed her physical age made those around her uncomfortable.
Her adult consciousness prevented her from depending on the chief’s family like she should have after they took her in, and she had decided to live independently once she reached the physical age of ten. She felt abnormal and desperately wanted to escape the eyes of others, at least more than she could while living with the chief. Yae’s soul recognized itself as part of this world. She missed her old hometown, but she didn’t necessarily want to return there.
Yae now thought of this place as her hometown. That was for certain. I still haven’t accepted everything about this world, but it will always be home.
Not one person tried to stop her when she announced she was leaving the chief’s patronage. She had wished to live alone, but it still felt like she had been abandoned, and she remembered the pain well.
Kuroashi, who showed up whenever he pleased, was the only one around whom she could let her guard down. That was why she didn’t reject him, even if she got the sense that his true identity might be something less than desirable.
“Hear our worship, heed to the last.”
Perhaps it was letting herself get lost in thought that caused everything to go wrong.
Blinking, Yae suddenly realized Lady Bihin had come to a halt. She quickly closed her mouth, stopped moving, and held her breath. It felt like she was playing red light, green light.
Oh, we’ve already reached the torii. The Kaizaka March ended once Lady Bihin was driven to the crimson pillar. After a short wait, she was supposed to vanish as if melting into the air. Something was different about her this year, though. She turned around and began to approach Yae.
Startled, Yae’s eyes darted about. Why is this happening? I didn’t mess up the song. The paper lantern hasn’t gone out.
Lady Bihin drew her sword from its scabbard and walked toward her. The scabbard and the blade itself were as black as obsidian. The fallen god faced the shocked Yae and raised her sword aloft.
Yae couldn’t scream. She couldn’t even move. Lady Bihin’s actions were too sudden. She simply stared at the sword as Lady Bihin swung it down toward her head.
Huh?! Wait, why—?
She was going to die. Yae was sure of that, and it terrified her, but Lady Bihin didn’t hit her—she hacked the blade into Kuroashi instead.
What?!
Miasma gushed from Kuroashi’s body, spread through the air, and engulfed Yae like a tidal wave. Her vision was painted black. Miasma flooded her mouth, nose, and eyes, and it felt as if her body were melting into darkness. Yae was afraid that it wasn’t just her body but her soul as well.
Then, unable to raise even one scream, Yae lost consciousness.
Yae awoke to find herself back in the Whiskey House. She leaped to her feet and surveyed the interior, still half-asleep. She saw the reddish-brown tiles on the wall, the wooden shelves and dresser, and the closed folding door. The crescent-shaped hammock was set up in her living room, but she had been sleeping on the fabric on the floor instead.
“…Why was I holding this black sword in my sleep? It looks familiar…”
Yae looked down at the object she was holding and was shocked when she realized what it was. She wanted to believe the incident during the ceremony was a dream, but this was definitely Lady Bihin’s black sword. It was about one meter long. The blade looked like it had a slight curvature to it, and she didn’t have the courage to draw it from the scabbard. The guard and the pommel were carved with what appeared to be beasts and flowers, and the decorated portion of the scabbard was the color of lapis lazuli.
This sword is terrifying. It looks like it would curse anyone who held it. Why is the rust gone? Maybe the rust fell away because it escaped Lady Bihin’s possession?
While doing her best not to look at the sword, Yae bent down, pulled a floor cushion toward her, and wrapped it around the weapon… The cushion barely hid the weapon at all, but it was better than nothing.
I should probably tell the chief about this as soon as possible, Yae thought. How would she explain it, though? Would she tell him about how Lady Bihin suddenly turned around during the ceremony and sliced Kuroashi with her sword? Would she mention that she didn’t know how she brought the sword home? Or that she didn’t even remember returning home in the first place?
No, those are the words of a crazy person. No one would believe me. Yae was sure of that. People already thought of her as an eccentric uroko; they would avoid her even more if she told anyone what had happened.
Yae exhaled a large breath to calm her fear and unrest, and just then, the black sword suddenly began to rattle.
“Wh-what the heck?! How terrifying!”
Yae stepped back, and the black sword rolled itself out of the floor cushion. It then fell silent and motionless.
What’s with this sword? It’s so weird…
She wrapped the sword in the cushion again with trembling hands, and it rattled even more irritably than last time, knocking the cushion away and crashing to the floor in front of Yae. It could not have been any clearer that it disapproved of being hidden in the floor cushion.
“There’s no way a sword with a will of its own isn’t cursed… Hey! Can you quit that rattling?! You’re freaking me out!” Yae yelled.
This was one demanding sword!
“Oh, what should I do? …I just need to calm down. I performed the ceremony just as I was taught. I’m not at fault here. I’ll just take the sword to the chief right away—goodness, will you stop rattling?! I don’t like that attitude! You’re giving off major ‘I’m going to curse you for life if you give me to anyone else’ vibes right now!”
The black sword fell silent as if to confirm her words. Yae watched it with trepidation for some time before building up the courage to speak.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I have it in me to live with a sentient sword, so you really need to go… Do you have to vibrate that loudly?! Stop it! You’re really scaring me!”
Yae scooted backward on the floor, and the black sword clattered noisily and pursued. It came to a full stop in front of her. She had never seen such an assertive sword. She wished it would take a few lessons from her cooking knives. They never rattled on their own. She would have to give them a nice sharpening later to show her appreciation.
“Ummm… You are Lady Bihin’s sword, right?” Yae asked timidly, hugging herself. The sword didn’t respond. What did she expect? She had just asked a sword a question. If anyone saw her, they would have thought she was insane. “I know, I’ll leave it by the crimson pillar… Huh, does that rattling mean you don’t want that, either?!”
It seemed like the one thing the black sword didn’t want was to be left anywhere other than her house. I guess I have no choice but to keep it as a pet, Yae despaired. She didn’t think she could ever bring herself to love it, no matter how hard she tried.
What do you want me to do? Yae appealed internally to the strange cursed sword.