...

Berta said nothing, but looking at the way her body was subtly trembling, he seemed to have hit the bullseye. Supply a woman for the sake of the town—not an idea one would expect from a young woman like Fiona, but not one that was unheard of, either. Or perhaps it was the priests who had instructed Berta to use her body to manipulate Yukinari. If Yukinari felt even a little grateful for it, that would already be a success, and if he got passionate about her and succumbed to her body, so much the better. That was probably their thinking.

“All that stuff about your ‘job’ or whatever... let’s put that on hold for now. How about you just come on in?” Yukinari pointed to the bath, which was full to the brim with hot water. “There’s no point in you getting cold.”

●

While Yukinari was in the bath, Fiona had arranged a meeting with the priests in her office.

“Demigod or whatever else he may be,” said one of the priests, “he must be made to take responsibility for killing the erdgod that was protecting this land.”

Once they accepted the reality of the situation, they were quick to change their thinking. Of course, being a priest in this area demanded that of you. After all, the shrine maiden candidates and the priests lived under the same roof and ate food from the same pot, and yet the priests had to send them away to be sacrificed—and they had to do this on a regular basis. Granted, the shrine maidens were being raised for this purpose, but even so, no one who formed a strong attachment to things could possibly fill such a position.

The priests were attempting to come to an agreement about installing Yukinari as the new erdgod.

“However, I doubt it is within our power to keep him bound in any way.”

“After all, he has enough power to fell an erdgod.”

“In which case, I would suggest the wisest move is to win him over by presenting him with a shrine maiden.”

In short, they seemed to reason that since he looked like a man, they might be able to win him over by sending him a woman. It was an indecent idea, but there was no other way.

“I have already spoken to Berta about this. Please, rest at ease.” Fiona closed her eyes and breathed out deeply. “How long must this go on?”

“Well... These are the laws by which our world is governed, I’m afraid. It is not in our power to do anything about them.” The high priest spoke as if lecturing her. “Animals eat the grass, people eat the animals, and gods eat the people. That is the way of the world. There is no use fighting it. You just need to accept it.”

“Do I?” Fiona narrowed her eyes and glared at the high priest. “But in the capital—”

“You’re referring to the True Church of Harris?” The high priest shot back the question as if to stop Fiona in her tracks. “We, too, have heard the rumors. They say the Missionary Order can fell even erdgods. The word is that they are gaining more and more followers.”

“Yes.”

The Church had a lot of influence in the capital. In fact, the majority of people who lived there were believers in the Church. Royalty, nobles, and commoners alike followed the True Church of Harris. Historically speaking, their school of thought was relatively new, but despite this, the Church’s easily understandable doctrine and the “power” it had displayed on numerous occasions had led to a rapid increase in followers.

“But Deputy Mayor—no, Milady,” the high priest said in a gentle tone, “think of what your ancestors would say if you abandoned the time-honored traditions and replaced them with such emerging teachings. Think of the sorrow it would bring to your father, who lies bedridden.”

“Yes, I can imagine.”

Fiona had attended the school in the capital for about four years. Besides reading and writing, it was a place to acquire a broader knowledge and develop critical thinking. There were others there just like her, from all kinds of regions, who had come there to learn. Through associating with them, Fiona had learned that the kinds of unreasonable customs and traditions that took root in rural areas truly did come in all shapes and sizes, and most of them were irrational. In Fiona’s mind, the sacrifices to the erdgod were the epitome of this.

However, no one would even attempt to change their way of thinking—not the high priest, not the lesser priests, nor even most of the townspeople. Fiona thought that they were probably scared. To change your way of thinking was to admit that you had been wrong before. If they admitted that offering regular sacrifices was itself a mistake, they would have nowhere left to turn. It was because they believed that they were doing the right thing that they had been able to keep such cruelty going as a tradition for so long.

“We have our own way of life here. I urge you—”

“I understand.”

As the high priest admonished her in a calm tone as if he knew everything, Fiona hid her irritation and simply nodded.

●

The night air felt good on his heated body.

Yukinari had gone out alone into the mansion’s courtyard and was cooling himself down.

Dasa had immediately fallen asleep in her own room. The exhaustion of the journey had probably caught up with her. By now, she was probably sleeping so soundly that even pinching her cheek and pulling on it wouldn’t wake her up. She may not have complained, but Yukinari could tell that she was overdoing it.

“...But still.”

If chased, you had to run. The only people Yukinari and Dasa had to rely on in this world were each other. If someone wanted them dead, they had no choice but to run and never stop. No matter how strong he was in battle, if he had to constantly be on the alert for assailants, his mental stability would wear down within a month.

“This part of me is just the same as ever,” Yukinari muttered, looking up at the starry sky.

“Yukinari.”

A voice called to him from behind. “So this is where you were.”

He could tell who it was without turning around. To tell the truth, he had basically known that someone was approaching him. He could sense her presence. Although he couldn’t say that he had fully mastered this body yet, he had to admit that its senses were abnormally sharp. Not just that, he had strong arms and legs, and stamina as well. His body was highly capable in all aspects.

That was why he found it frustrating that his mental fortitude was still locked at the same level. Of course, that was what made Yukinari who he was, and proof of his identity.

“Was Berta not to your liking?” Fiona asked as she stood beside Yukinari.

“It’s not about whether she’s ‘to my liking.’ And I just knew you put her up to it.”

“Or is it a matter of numbers? You have a girl traveling with you, so I thought one would be sufficient, but we do have other shrine maidens. If you’d like more, it’s quite possible for us to supply them. If you would do us the favor of letting us know your type, I am sure the priests would find someone suitable.” Fiona had no qualms about discussing this. Perhaps this showed they had a working system for "producing" new sacrifices.

Yukinari didn’t appreciate her attitude of speaking of others like objects. So he decided to mess with her a little.

“Type. How about... blonde hair, green eyes?”

Fiona’s face tensed.

“I like a woman who’s had a good upbringing and behaves like a princess. And I want to pin her down and make her squeal. Yeah, that sounds like my type. Think you could get me one of those?”

Despite looking overwhelmed, after a pause, Fiona gathered together a response.

“Yukinari.”

“Yes, Princess?”

“I’m not certain whether or not I can squeal for you, but would you like to come to my room? Right now?”

“It doesn’t have to be squealing, panting’s fine too—wait, what?” Yukinari looked at Fiona with wide eyes. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I should like to think I do,” said Fiona, forcing a smile.

Her profile, which in appearance still held its youth, now looked terribly grown up—no, even aged. She had probably been through a lot more than Yukinari had thought, and understood the world that much more as a result. At the very least, a person who had gone through life without ever making a difficult decision, without ever being inconvenienced, could never wear a face like this.

“I am the mayor’s daughter, don’t you forget. The daughter of the person who governs this town. If I can protect the entire town at the cost of my own purity, I would call that a very small price to pay.”

“...Wow.”

“My father wanted me to become a good ruler, and so he sent me to the school in the capital in order to broaden my perception. I think he spent a not-insignificant sum of money on it. Someone who’s probably starving to death somewhere out there today and whom we were forced to abandon could probably have been saved with that money.”

“That’s—”

“So, I can’t afford to become a substitute for the shrine maidens. If I were to be eaten by an erdgod, that money would be wasted, money that could have been used to save five or ten people. If I’m going to sacrifice this body, it will only be when I’m certain that by doing so I can save the lives of at least ten people living in this town.” Fiona spoke just the facts, without emotion.

“Yuki, if there’s one thing I can say for certain about you, it’s that you aren’t eating and killing shrine maidens like an erdgod does. So when Berta and I offer ourselves to you, you know that we wouldn’t be ‘one use only,’ don’t you?”

“...Well... I guess,” Yukinari said with a vague smile.

“You could protect this town for five years, ten years, or perhaps even longer. That would be more than adequate compensation for us.”

“Sorry, but... making it rain, stopping floods, and making the land fertile... all that is impossible for me, you know.”

“Nevertheless, you felled the erdgod, didn’t you? That is none other than a proof that you have the same level of power as the gods.”

“Not this again...” Yukinari sighed and slapped a palm against Durandall on his hip. “Like I said earlier, I just used a slightly special weapon.”

He had fiddled with Durandall’s appearance a little, but practically speaking, it was just a cut-down lever-action rifle, a Winchester M92 Randall Custom, with a blade attached to it. It took some getting used to because of the weight balance and so on, but ordinary people could obviously use it, too.

“I seriously wouldn’t mind just giving you this thing to pay for one night’s accommodation.”

“I don’t know what kind of thing that weapon is—but it won’t do us any good just to be given a sword. Any sword is no more than a stick without a swordsman.”

“Fair point.” Yukinari shrugged his shoulders. Even if the inhabitants of this town obtained Durandall, it would take some time to learn to use it effectively. There were also other things to consider: the supply of .44 Magnum bullets and the replacement of worn or damaged parts. Certainly, it was not as simple as handing over Durandall and everything would be solved. In that sense, working with guns was difficult in a lot of ways.

“By the way...” Fiona suddenly changed the topic. “You seem to be traveling somewhere... Do you have some goal you’re in a hurry to reach?”

Yukinari hesitated for a moment. This had nothing to do with Fiona. He had no obligation to talk to her about it. But after having made Fiona talk about her “resolve,” it felt unfair to not speak a single word about himself.

“I made a promise to someone,” he said, looking back in the direction of the mansion. “That I’d protect the girl you saw me with. Dasa.”

“Protect her from what?”

That one, Yukinari couldn’t answer. He couldn’t decide how Fiona’s attitude would change if she found out the truth. Even more so if she had once been in the capital. This girl was astonishingly rational—but even so, humans were incapable of making all their decisions based purely on rationality, like a machine.

“Is that something you can’t do here?” Fiona asked, tilting her head. It was unclear how she had interpreted Yukinari’s silence.

“I don’t know...” He had promised Jirina that he would protect Dasa. To Yukinari, the alchemist Jirina Urban was a mother, a sister, a savior, and someone sorely missed after her death. He could never see her again. Therefore, the promise he made her was unbreakable.

However, how to keep that promise was not necessarily set in stone. It was unclear to Yukinari whether even continuing to run was truly the best option. The fact was that Dasa seemed to be very tired, and if they kept up this burdensome journey, a fatal problem could develop someday. But still...

“I really... don’t know.”

The night wore on. With the night air cooling their bodies, Yukinari and Fiona stood awhile in silence, under a canopy of stars.