“You’ll be fine now,” he turned to her, and she nodded with a smile. Perhaps because her smile brought him relief, or perhaps because of the stun gun’s effect on his wounds, Azusa’s face stiffened even as he tried to return the smile. He might have recovered enough to walk, but a normal human being would have had to be on strict bed rest.
“Excuse me…hello!” The girl’s face grew closer, and everything went out of focus and faded to darkness.
Before he lost consciousness, his last thought to himself was, That was quite reckless, if I say so myself.
“Azusa…chan… Azusa-chan…” The woman with the white hair longer than she was tall smiled at Azusa. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek. A teardrop ran between her fingers. Tears were streaming from young Azusa’s face. “…chan… Azusa-chan…”
He yelled and screamed and clung to her. He shook his head in the throes of a tantrum. Life drained from the woman’s face, but the smile was always there. “Azusa-chan… Azusa…chan… I love you…”
“…Mitsuki!” Azusa grabbed the hand in front of him, and realized it belonged to the girl he just saved, and not the woman who kept calling him from the depths of his consciousness. No…it’s not her…
The girl blushed and withdrew her hand, and hurriedly left the room. Azusa’s mind was still in a haze, and he watched her silently. Once his head started to clear, he pushed himself up to better assess the situation. He was resting in a room. The house was old but tasteful and comfortable, and reflective of its caretaker’s character. From between the sliding shoji doors the girl had left open, he saw gorgeous fall foliage.
“It’s so beautiful…” Azusa had instantly fallen in love with the place. As he gazed outside, a bright red leaf from a garden maple tree fluttered down by his pillow, tossed by the breeze. He picked it up and studied it.
“You’re awake. Good.” He looked up to see an old man sliding the door shut behind him. He was probably the master of this house.
“I am deeply grateful for your care while I was unconscious,” he bowed.
The old man shook his head, “It is I who must thank you for saving my granddaughter. However, I recommend that you leave as soon as you are well enough.” His manner was gentle, but there was something about him that seemed opposed to Azusa’s very being.
“You must have your reasons.”
“It’s not a matter worth talking about, but it’s for your own good.”
Azusa did not press further because he had a pretty good idea of what it was.
The old man next asked him why he had come to this village, but Azusa only said he was a traveler. It was a half-truth and a half-lie, but the old man also did not press further. “I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Azusa.”
“Azusa-sama. My name is Asumi.”
“This is a lovely house. The view outside is wonderful.”
“It’s an empty village deep in the mountains. Its only virtue is that it’s a quiet place, good for thinking.” Asumi did not try to continue the conversation, but mentioned that he would have his granddaughter bring a meal later, stood, and slid open the door. The girl was on the other side, clearly curious about the proceedings. She saw Azusa notice her and hastily disappeared.
Azusa gazed at the closed door. Why did I hallucinate her as Mitsuki? She doesn’t look like her at all. Was I out of it?
Asumi’s granddaughter’s name was Funaho. She would later become Jurai’s First Queen. This was how the two met. Funaho was still fourteen years old.
At first, she avoided Azusa—or rather, she did not know how to interact with him, but she warmed up over several exchanges, and by the third day, she voluntarily came to visit Azusa. Of course, Azusa did not mind. As someone from the early stages of civilization in a remote region of space, Funaho belonged to a primitive society from Azusa’s perspective. While she did not have the dazzling beauty of the women he met through his travels, she was down to earth and as pure as a clear spring.
The experience of injuries and illnesses while traveling unfamiliar lands, though with individual variation, could make one feel incredibly forlorn and helpless. While Azusa would never admit it, he was not an exception to this. It was a given that the girl tending to him would make a good impression. He was also grateful that the meals were to his taste. They were lightly seasoned and cooked to make the most of the local ingredients, which was a similar style to Jurai cuisine. It was only natural that Azusa would feel more at ease here with Funaho than while he was on Jurai.
It was the fifth morning of Azusa’s stay at the Asumi household. Funaho brought his meal to his bedside again, and upon Azusa’s request, ate with him.
“Um…Azusa-sama, may I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“Well…is Mitsuki-sama someone in your family?” He reflexively looked up at her face. “I’m sorry if that sounded rude. You were moaning her name when you were in pain. I thought we should contact her if she’s your family… I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t worry about it. Did I say anything else?”
“No, no other names… Though I did hear something about an old bat,” Funaho said hesitantly and averted her eyes.
Azusa’s face twitched. “I-I see, ha ha ha… Don’t worry about contacting my family.”
“But what if they’re worried about you?” She placed her chopsticks down and leaned forward ever closer.
“Funaho! You must not be so intrusive in your questions,” Asumi stated unequivocally, from where he was standing beyond the open doors. Funaho involuntarily stiffened and cast her eyes downward.
“I don’t mind. You’ve taken such good care of me, yet I caused Funaho-dono needless worry because of my inability to tell you anything,” Azusa apologized to Asumi and threw Funaho a lifeline. But then…
“I apologize…” Funaho mumbled and left the room.
“Funaho-dono…”
“Azusa-sama!” Asumi stopped Azusa as he tried to rise to follow Funaho. His eyes were not those of the usually good-natured old man. “If this is to while away your time during your travels, please don’t.”
“…!!” Azusa realized what Asumi meant, and opened his eyes wide.
“Excuse me,” Asumi said, and withdrew into the house.
Helpless, Azusa stared where he had gone for a moment, then slapped his forehead in self-deprecation. “That was careless.”
Asumi had noticed that Funaho had started to have special feelings for Azusa. He had never seen the quiet girl smile so happily before. However, from Azusa’s dress and demeanor, he had easily surmised that he came from nobility. He feared that his granddaughter’s young love would end in disappointment.
“So careless…” Azusa realized, at Asumi’s words, that he too had developed similar feelings for Funaho.