Yosho was recuperating at Tairoh’s. On Earth, several months had passed since the battle with Ryoko, and Funaho, the Royal Tree, had taken root at the base of the mountain. A Royal Tree that takes root loses its power. She would never fly again.
Yosho decided to live his life here with Kasumi. With Funaho’s remaining energy, he retrieved the things he needed from his room in hyperspace. Once Funaho lost power, he would have no way to access it. He could have returned to Jurai immediately if he only sent a distress signal, but he had chosen to live his life on this planet.
Ryoko’s jewels were taken from her, but she was not dead. Yosho created a force field in a rocky area close by and sealed her in. He did not know why he did not kill her. But he did see unexpected purity and beauty in her eyes. They reminded him of Ayeka… Yes, they were very childlike.
Thinking of those eyes, he could not bring himself to hate her.
The damage incurred in the battle had caused rumors, creating a larger problem. Yosho was at a loss. Despite his unease, Tairoh and Kasumi were calm.
“You don’t need to do anything.”
“But there must’ve been witnesses. How should we explain…?” “Leave it to us.”
These lands were rife with legends of ogres to begin with. The terrified residents nearby who had witnessed Ryo-Ohki’s red crystals and roaring that night easily believed that it had been a battle between an ogre and a warrior. It was the most sensible explanation to them. Things quieted down when a shrine was built to appease the ogre. Its establishment brought peace of mind to the people, and conveniently for Yosho, fear of the ogre kept people away.
A few years later, Yosho married Kasumi. It didn’t abate his feelings for Airi, but she built a position in his heart similar to Airi’s. They had three children and lived in tranquility for a while…but a curious phenomenon was a source of concern to Yosho. Royal Trees gradually weakened and lost their power when rooted in the ground. But Funaho did not lose any of her power even after decades. He soon guessed that it had to do with Ryoko’s jewels. If they had been the source of Ryoko’s energy, then it was very possible it was flowing into Funaho through the Master Key.
Royal Trees absorb energy from innumerable different dimensions through their roots. Or, more accurately, the roots converted this energy into a form unique to Royal Trees. This was only possible within its specialized containment unit, and this was why they lost power when rooted. But there was another way to maintain power: to receive a charge from another Royal Tree. But since it could not absorb it from the roots, they could only accept energy of the same kind.
“If the jewels are the source of energy… I can’t think of anything else.
Then the jewels must contain the same kind of energy as the Royal Trees.” And Funaho was a First Generation Tree. To maintain her power, the power hidden in Ryoko’s jewels would have to at least equal that of a First Generation Tree. It was hard to believe, but since she attacked the Jurai home world and fought on even terms with Funaho, there could be no doubt.
“I’m lucky that Funaho’s not losing power. Thinking beyond that is pointless.” Yosho thought this way because there was a more pressing problem: that of his children, who inherited his blood and thus would live far longer than other people on Earth. The other issue was that lifespan extension was possible because Funaho had not lost her power.
Kasumi lived many years but could not endure the concept of living in a different timeline than others. She rejected any further extensions at eighty years old and chose to die of old age. She was long-suffering and did not express her anxieties outwardly but would often seem pained. However, once she started to show signs of age, she became more emotionally stable and her expressions grew more peaceful, to Yosho’s relief.
She died at the ripe old age of 138. For Kasumi, it was a long and happy enough life.
Based on conversations he had with her while she was alive, Yosho decided something important. Kasumi especially desired that none besides Yosho should have their lifespans extended. Extending life with a First Generation Royal Tree enabled maintenance of youth, and even humans of Earth could live longer than a thousand years. But that was different from bio-fortification, and psychologically and physically they would remain human. Even if they were able to mentally endure the reality of living so many years, no amount of bio-fortification would prevent the destabilization of the body, and Kasumi knew this. As long as they lived on Earth, they would live long enough lives without doing a thing. It was dangerous to attempt to extend their lives further.
But Yosho was a bio-fortified Juraian, with a duty to monitor that Ryoko was kept safely sealed away. As a result, it did not take long to reach the conclusion that they should pretend that Funaho had lost power.
In any case, a long life on Earth caused a multitude of problems. The more descendants Yosho had, the harder it would be to remain detached from the outside world and the more rumors about his long life would spread.
Fortunately, rumors were just that, and few fully trusted such tales. Especially while the transmission of information was undeveloped, details were easily lost or changed with precise interference. Once that village of longevity was closed off behind Funaho’s force field, or erased from official maps, its credibility would vanish, and the rumors along with it. Curiosities were relegated to and buried in corners of memory unless they were physically proximate and involved in daily life. Without specific memories, very few outside of the modern age had the capacity to verify such things.
But then there were people who had the wherewithal and tenacity of purpose to verify those rumors: the authority figures of the day. They made contact with Yosho in various ways to obtain the secrets of long life, but to protect himself and his clan, Yosho would have no mercy. Bio-fortified, and with the power of a First Generation Tree at full power, there was nowhere safe on Earth for those authority figures. Imbued with incredible fearsomeness, Yosho became a legend, and those in power along with any who aspired to great power gained a tacit understanding to regard Yosho as forbidden. Though even Yosho had to laugh when the fear turned into worship, and Yosho was deified and revered as a warrior god.
Those originally of different colors could not be dyed one color. There would always be distortions. To continue to live in a hidden village and cut off contact with the outside world was dangerous for Yosho’s descendants. A while after Kasumi passed, Yosho decided to use Funaho’s power to contact Kanemitsu at the Galaxy Academy. He was aware that he would be picked up by Seto’s information network. The Emperor of Jurai’s network had still not caught up to Seto’s. That was a glimpse of Seto’s ability, as desired as Jurai’s Empress.
“It’s been a while, Kanemitsu-dono.”
“Are you Yosho…?!” The moment he uttered Yosho’s name, Kanemitsu was abruptly kicked out of view.
“Yosho…kun. Are you really Yosho-kun? There’s no doubt about it.
Yosho-kun!!” The one who appeared instead…
“Airi…dono…” Yosho was at a loss for words. Airi, whom he had thought he would never see again, had appeared before him, beautifully matured into a woman. And Airi was enraptured by Yosho, all grown up into a strapping man, and she blushed. However…
“Why… you… idiot!!” Her angry bellow reverberated through the screen and through the mountains, sure to give birth to another legend about ogres. Yosho, who saw it coming, covered his ears. “You just covered your ears?! After all the worry you caused me…” Airi growled, about to explode.
“Airi-dono… calm down.”
“Why you…” The moment she tried to yell again, a swarm of Funaho puppies flew out from her ring. “Squee! Funaho-chan! ♥” The yelling turned into a shriek of delight, and Airi was swallowed up by the wave of puppies.
Seeing her, Yosho was relieved. “Um…”
“What?!” Beyond the screen was a girl about the same age as Airi when they first met, staring at Yosho, misty-eyed.
“Um, I…” the girl mumbled faintly.
“Excuse me, who are you?” Yosho could not remember her, no matter how he tried.
“Pleased to meet you, Father.”
“Huh…?” After his outcry, Yosho’s mind went blank. “I’m your daughter, Minaho!” The girl shyly bowed.
Yosho’s mouth gaped as understanding dawned upon him, and his lips gradually widened into a smile. “Ha ha ha…”
Why was Airi, who had returned to Airai, now at the Academy? Who knew what had happened in these one hundred-plus years? But deep in Yosho’s subconscious, he had the feeling that those difficult but fun and boisterous days would return.
THE END