Chapter 4: Mania in the Post Town

Chapter 4: Mania in the Post Town

1

“Don’t worry about it so much, Ai Fa,” Ludo Ruu of all people surprisingly called out as we were heading to the post town the following day. “It’s not like you could’ve ditched Asuta and gone off to play hide and seek. If you did and Asuta got munched by a giiz or something and died, that’d be a serious issue, right?”

It was the same group of four stall workers and four guards as yesterday.

As we headed down the slightly declining path, Ai Fa remained silent and sullen-looking.

“It’s not like my old man or Jiza had any complaints, either. If he’s going to show up again today, then we’ve just got to nab him when he does. Plus it’s not like he can use giba summoning fruit to lure the beasts all the way into town, so it should be an easy win for us hunters.”

Naturally, we revealed everything that happened last night to our fellow people of the forest’s edge rather than trying to conceal anything. The Dom men even went ahead and formed a late-night search party, but nobody was able to find any trace of Tei Suun.

“At any rate, there’s no point in worrying. We’ll capture him without any of the women or townsfolk getting so much as a scratch. That should be easy enough, considering we’re just up against one man.”

Ludo Ruu sounded even more laid back than usual as he walked at the head of the group.

“And if he’ll actually cast aside his blade, then let him enjoy Asuta’s cooking one last time. He shouldn’t have any complaints that way either, right? Not that we’d listen to his complaints, though... So don’t get so down, Ai Fa.”

“I’m not feeling particularly down at all...” Ai Fa responded with a pout, seemingly unable to put up with it any longer.

Instantly, Rau Lea chimed in from his position sandwiched between the women, “What’s with that expression? You can make a face like that? You’re reminding me of a little kid, there.” Almost immediately, Ai Fa shot him back a glare of warning from her wildcat-like eyes. “Man, no matter what sort of face you’re making, though, it seems to suit you. Looking closely, you’re quite a beauty. If you weren’t a hunter, I’d want to offer to take you as my bride.”

“Cut it out, Rau Lea. You seriously don’t know how to restrain yourself,” I hurriedly interjected.

But Rau Lea replied, “What’s that?” with a tilt of his head. “The Lea clan doesn’t make a habit of holding back around friends. If I want to take a woman as my bride, then I’ll just tell her that.”

“No, but...”

“Don’t worry. I can’t go and marry a hunter, anyway. After all, I’ve got to have lots of kids as clan head. If you want to be my bride, then you’ll have to give up on hunting.”

“Ai Fa didn’t say a single word about wanting to marry you, though,” Ludo Ruu chimed in with a chuckle, which brought the topic to a close. Normally I would find it reassuring seeing how nonchalant and relaxed they were acting under the circumstances, but I had felt a tightness crushing my chest since yesterday.

That man... Tei Suun... Just what sort of person is he, really?

He was a man of the branch houses who lost his family and came to live with the main house.

Oura’s father and Tsuvai’s grandfather.

Yamiru Lea and Diga’s hands and feet, compelled to do awful things.

And also... the previous clan head Zattsu Suun’s close associate.

No matter how many times I went over his profile, I didn’t feel any closer to grasping Tei Suun’s nature.

The only positive points I had to go on were the fact that he may have interpreted Diga’s order in a way that allowed him to save Ai Fa, and that he put down his blade ridiculously quickly when up against Dan Rutim.

He wants someone to bring his life to an end as soon as possible...

That was what Yamiru Lea had said.

Perhaps that was the way she had once felt, too. But ultimately, she chose to live on as a member of the Lea clan. Yet even though Diga and Doddo had fled, ultimately Tei Suun remained with Zattsu Suun. And not only that, he also dirtied his hands helping the man in his final act of wrongdoing.

Was that all part of his self-destructiveness? He saw Zattsu Suun fall and chose this path so he could also meet his end...? Was that it?

“Hey, hold on...” Rau Lea suddenly warned, holding up his arm.

We were on a path at the edge of the forest, surrounded by greenery. It was a narrow trail, cleared solely to connect the settlement to the post town. There were short yet lush trees on either side, and the 2-3 meter wide path continued on into the distance, winding significantly as it went. It was impossible to look far ahead with all the vegetation, but we had been walking long enough that we would probably start seeing the liveliness of the post town soon.

“What is it? I don’t sense anything.”

“Yeah, in the forest off to the left and right... But don’t things seem more turbulent in town than usual?”

I couldn’t hear anything at all. Vina Ruu and the other women looked confused, too.

However, the hunters all nodded in agreement.

“Now that you mention it, I can sense a large crowd getting all worked up.”

“Did Tei Suun slip up and get caught?”

“I’ll go take a look,” Shin Ruu called out from the rear, then disappeared down the road only to reappear less than a minute later. “There are folks gathered at the borderline between the town and the forest. They aren’t showing any sign of moving our way, but there seem to be a lot of guards there, too.”

“How many is a lot?”

“There had to be over ten guards, and around a hundred townsfolk.”

What in the world was that all about? The easiest scenario to imagine really was that Tei Suun had been captured and onlookers had gathered around.

“We can’t head into town like this. What’ll we do, Asuta?”

“Right... How about if Ai Fa and I go check it out? That should get the townsfolk less worked up.”

And if Tei Suun really had been captured, then I felt we needed to try to talk to him before he was taken away to the castle.

“Right. But if things look dangerous, then turn around immediately, alright? Then we’ll just take it easy and wait for them to disperse.”

“Understood,” Ai Fa stated with a nod.

With that, we set off down the same path that Shin Ruu had just taken. After around thirty seconds of walking the gently curving trail, the sight that the young hunter had described came into view. We were still at a good bit of a higher elevation, and so we ended up looking down on the scene.

The wooden stalls were all lined up in a row. And in the open space behind them, over a hundred people were gathered. It was if they were standing there specifically to block us from our goal.

Now that I thought about it, ever since Zattsu and Tei Suun escaped, there were always two guards stationed there. But now, there were over ten of them. And on top of that, a number of the townsfolk were clearly arguing with them.

“It doesn’t appear that Tei Suun has been captured...” Ai Fa noted.

“Yeah. In that case... are we the source of this commotion?”

It was certainly possible. In fact, if Tei Suun wasn’t involved, then that was about all I could think of.

“What should we do? Would it be bad if we headed down there in that case?”

“But we can’t simply turn around without learning what’s going on. After all, Tei Suun will still head into town whether we’re there or not.” Ai Fa’s intense gaze was pointed my way. “We should try asking the guards. If they tell us to head back to the settlement then we’ll have no choice but to obey, but at any rate, we can’t make a proper move without knowing the circumstances... But if those folks move to attack, then we’ll fall back immediately.”

“Got it.”

So, Ai Fa and I took off walking carefully forwards again, keeping an eye out for an attack from the side as we went.

Before long the trees started to thin out, and we came into their field of view... then in the same instant, the murmuring from the crowd was replaced with an angry bellow. The torrent of noise was intense enough that it made my ears buzz.

Ai Fa instantly stopped in place, and the spear-wielding guards formed a wall, but the townsfolk didn’t seem to be pushing our way. And so, we started walking again.

As we approached, I managed to make out some of the words being shouted. They seemed to come in two varieties: “Get out!” and “No, stay!”

And as we got closer, shouts of, “Gah, stop this ruckus! It’s a serious crime to cause a disturbance in town! Do you all want to be exiled from Genos, eh?!” and the like could be heard from the guards.

“Don’t mess with us! If you think you can kick us out, then just try it!”

“You guards make a living off our coins too, don’t you?!”

“If you call yourselves guards, then do your jobs properly when it comes to catching criminals!”

“Who are you calling criminals?! The criminal was captured yesterday, wasn’t he?!”

Many from the crowd were busy hounding the guards. But the rest of the group was made up of townsfolk squabbling among themselves, it seemed.

The majority were from the west and south. Though their skin colors differed, their faces were all now red as they grabbed at each other’s chests and shouted. And there were folks from the west shooting each other threatening glares, too.

Then there were tall, slim folks from the east just standing silently around them all. In terms of numbers, they seemed to be about equal to the westerners and southerners. Some of the folks from the west seemed to be chewing them out, but the easterners never raised their voices or shoved anyone, instead simply calmly responding.

“The people of the forest’s edge hate the folks of Genos! You shouldn’t let such a dangerous group into town!”

“Don’t go blathering such selfish nonsense! They didn’t do a single thing wrong!”

“Yeah! Or is it the way of westerners to go around slandering innocent folks?!”

“Shut up! You outsiders shouldn’t go talking big!”

“If you’ve got a problem with how things are, then why don’t you all just leave Genos?!”

“Eh?! You want to ban us from coming and going? Then why even have a post town?! If you can’t stand outsiders, then you should build a stone wall around it!”

We had stopped around seven or eight meters away from the crowd.

Their violent emotions were enough to bring the cool morning breeze to a raging boil.

“The people of the forest’s edge are all our enemies!”

“What are you, stupid? Or are you planning on hunting giba yourself, eh?!”

“You’re from Genos, but you’re covering for the people of the forest’s edge?!”

“They’re Genos citizens too! They’re also children of the western god of Selva! So anyone who slanders them is a despicable traitor!”

“Calm down and disperse, already! We really will arrest all of you!”

“Just go ahead and try it!”

There was no longer any need to ask anyone what was going on. Those who defended the people of the forest’s edge were clearly clashing with folks coming after us.

All of the folks from the south seemed to be on our side. Meanwhile, the majority of the westerners seemed to be criticizing us. However, there were a few among their number who opposed the critics.

The numbers in the crowd seemed to be growing by the second, too. There were continuously new people streaming in from between the buildings and down the road, drawn by the commotion. In short, things were growing completely out of control.

As I stood there dumbfounded, Ai Fa wore a seriously sour expression on her face.

Should we try to defend our own innocence? Or would it be better to not say a word and instead just turn around here and now?

It was easy to imagine how either of those options could cause the commotion to grow even further, though.

“Asuta and his people didn’t do anything wrong! So why should they have to be driven out of town?!” a girl’s familiar voice called out from among the shouts flying about. That was Yumi, without a doubt. However, I wasn’t able to spy where she was in the crowd.

“Just let us eat already! I’m completely starving!” yelled out Balan, otherwise known as Pops.

Perhaps Shumiral was also watching sadly over the commotion, his hood pulled over his head.

What should we do...?

Normally, it would make sense to retreat for the moment.

We were being half forced by the castle to keep doing business, but if we went ahead and just followed that blindly now, it could well lead to a decisive fracture between the townsfolk and the people of the forest’s edge. So it made sense to fall back and try to talk the matter over once more with the folks from the castle.

But if we just turned and ran without any explanation, the folks advocating for the people of the forest’s edge could explode with even greater anger. So just what should we—

“Cut it out already! What business do you all have interfering with someone else’s business?!” a large man’s voice resounded, overpowering all the other shouting. Naturally that didn’t quiet everyone, but at the very least, most of the front line directly hounding the guards held their tongues and turned his way. “What did the people of the forest’s edge do to you all?! Only folks who were actually harmed should open their mouths! But the rest of you should shut up and stay silent!”

“What are you saying?! They attacked a merchant caravan just yesterday!”

“These folks didn’t attack anyone, though! And the guy who did was captured! So what do you all have to complain about?!”

The large man arguing on our behalf was Milano Mas.

As he stepped into sight from the whirling crowd, his back was to us as he looked over the people present, and then bellowed even louder, “If a criminal comes from a kingdom, then are all that nation’s people also criminals?! Are you trying to say Genos has never produced a single sinner of its own?! Are all of you ready to shoulder the crimes of others and get hanged for them?!”

“You damn traitor! Anybody covering for the people of the forest’s edge should get the hell out of Genos!”

“I’m not covering for anyone! I’m just lecturing you idiots who think it’s proper to cast judgment on folks who’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Let’s go, Ai Fa,” I said as I grabbed my clan head’s arm. “We can’t let Milano Mas keep standing in the line of fire like that. We’ve got to go persuade everyone.”

“I doubt I possess the words needed to convince any townsfolk.”

“Then just protect me. Someone may try to slug me, after all.”

“I can certainly handle that task,” Ai Fa replied with a daring smile.

With that, Ai Fa and I took off down the path, only for a voice like thunder to proclaim, “Silence!” and decisively quiet the seething crowd.

Over a hundred people simultaneously held their breath in the face of that overwhelming shout.

I could maybe see Donda Ruu or Dan Rutim pulling off the same trick. However, the men who appeared had undoubtedly come from within the walls of stone.

A different sort of murmuring than before now dominated the crowd, and the densely packed throng split in two in a way that called to mind Moses parting the Red Sea. And then, ten soldiers strode down that freshly cleared path.

They were clearly of a higher status than the town guards as they were clad in beautiful milky-white leather armor, and the swords at their hips were held in matching leather sheaths. On top of that, they held long-handled pikes.

I had never seen anyone dressed in such dazzling attire here in the post town before. They also wore metal helmets that guarded their noses and cheeks, chest plates bearing the crest of the western kingdom, short cloaks that seemed to be meant for show, and gauntlets that reached from the backs of their hands to their elbows. Outside of the helmets, almost everything was made of leather, but metal pieces covered their joints and the like. And everything from their sheaths to their long leather boots was finely adorned, giving them a sort of heroic beauty.

Then, a man stepped out slowly from the center of the group and stood before the guards. Even among the well-built soldiers dressed in white, he seemed especially tall and gallant. He was undoubtedly the leader of the group. His helmet had a sort of crest with tassels hanging from above it, he was the only one with a long cloak, and instead of a pike he had two swords. There was a sparkling yellow gemstone like amber holding his cloak in place, and his white leather armor was even more beautifully decorated.

“Guard captain, what is this commotion about?” the man asked in a chilling, grave voice. Sure enough, he had been the one to yell moments ago.

One of the guards blocking the path to the forest’s edge stepped forward in a fluster.

“A-Ah, Lord Melfried... What is the captain of the ducal guard doing in a place such as this?”

“I’m the one asking questions, guard captain.”

With that, the plump captain of the guard started to tremble.

“T-Thanks to the incident with the criminal from yesterday, the townsfolk have grown fearful of the people of the forest’s edge. And since a group of them came to do business here in town, that led to this commotion.”

As they had that conversation, the townsfolk remained perfectly silent.

There was an awkward line now dividing the bustling town and the wild forest. The group of soldiers really didn’t seem to fit on either side. No, they seemed more like they belonged in the city of stone.

It didn’t hit me immediately when I heard the term “captain of the ducal guard,” but they really must have been trueborn residents of the Genos castle town, which stood surrounded by those stone walls.

“There was a proclamation just two days ago that the people of the forest’s edge were not forbidden from doing business in the post town, and that hasn’t been revoked,” that Melfried man stated, then he turned to look at me and Ai Fa. His exaggerated helmet covered a good bit of his head, so it was hard to make out the expression on his face too well. However, that little was plenty for me.

When I glanced to the side, I found Ai Fa furrowing her brows in displeasure.

In that case, he really is... I thought to myself, instinctively clenching my fist.

Showing little interest in us, Melfried then turned back towards the guard captain.

“Or are you saying those people committed some sort of crime?”

“N-No. They only just came here, and haven’t said a word yet.”

“Then the townsfolk are clearly the criminals here for causing this disturbance. You are tasked with protecting order in the post town, so why are you letting them go free?”

“B-But, there are so many of them...”

“Numbers have nothing to do with it. A crime is still a crime,” the man clad in white stated as he drew one of his blades.

With that, a number of townsfolk screamed and tried to retreat.

“Criminals who have threatened the peace and tranquility of Genos, allow yourselves to be bound. If you resist, then I will deal with you personally as captain of the ducal guard.”

This was totally nuts.

Seeing that, I hurriedly ran the remaining seven or eight meters, still holding on to Ai Fa’s arm as I went.

“Please, wait! Did these people really commit that serious of a crime? At least from what I saw, nobody here resorted to violence, right?”

“A-A mere person of the forest’s edge shouldn’t dare speak to him so lightly! This is Duke Marstein Genos’s first child and captain of the ducal guard, Lord Melfried!” the guard captain shouted, his face going completely pale.

Duke Marstein Genos’s first child... In other words, the eldest son of the lord of Genos, huh?

Even so, I couldn’t just keep silent. After all, Milano Mas was standing right next to that man with his drawn sword, his eyes still burning bright with hostility and looking like he was ready to resume angrily shouting at any moment.

“This commotion started because we went and carelessly showed ourselves! We should have waited patiently until we saw that they had calmed down! These townsfolk had a suitable enough reason to feel the way they did, so please forgive them!”

“No matter the circumstances involved, a crime is still a crime. And you all aren’t barred in the least from coming to town,” Melfried said in a low voice, not bothering to look our way.

As I stared at the side of his indifferent face, I desperately continued on, “Causing a commotion in town is a crime, right? I get that. But in that case, shouldn’t you be passing judgment on the people most behind this?”

“The ones most behind this commotion, you say...?”

“Yes. I’m talking about that merchant caravan led by Zasshuma, who marched that terrifying criminal proudly through the post town. If he hadn’t exposed everyone to that villain on the verge of losing his sanity, then surely the peace and tranquility of the townsfolk never would have been disturbed.”

To everyone else, it may have just sounded like I was trying to push off blame. However, I didn’t care. Just as long as my feelings were properly conveyed to the people in question. So that they could know I felt this all happened because they hadn’t planned properly.

“You certainly have a silver tongue on you,” Melfried stated as he sheathed his blade.

Looking a bit dumbfounded, the guard captain hurriedly yelled out at the townsfolk, “Disperse, already! If you don’t, we really will arrest you!”

Everyone looked clearly displeased, but sure enough they started slowly walking back into town.

Then, Melfried turned to face me fully.

“Man of the forest’s edge, crimes are still crimes, and those who commit them remain criminals. Whether they be people of the forest’s edge or townsfolk, anyone living in Genos must abide by its laws.”

“I believe that idea is absolutely correct, in and of itself.”

Melfried’s face looked younger than I had been picturing. He had to be in his mid-twenties at most. He had a sturdy lower jaw and a well proportioned face, was quite tall, and looked like the very portrait of a noble overall. His skin was an ivory-white, while the bit of his bangs I could spy from under his helmet were a light brown... and his grey eyes had a frigid, reptilian light to them.

2

And so, though it came after a significant delay, we ended up going through with opening our stalls for business.

If it weren’t for the matter with Tei Suun, we surely would have turned right back around. After all, it seemed the people of Genos really did need some time for their raging emotions to calm.

Still, that just made it all the more important to catch Tei Suun as quickly as possible. In order to put both the people of the forest’s edge and the townsfolk at ease... and so that he could rest easy, too.

Tei Suun may well have wished for destruction. However, I didn’t wish that fate upon him. If he could at least avoid a death sentence, then maybe he could be granted the chance to turn his life around.

But if he just kept fleeing without taking time to heal such severe wounds, he’d end up dying out in the forest. If there was any chance left that he could start over, no matter how small it may be, then I didn’t want him to give up. Perhaps that sounded hypocritical, but that was how I truly felt.

“Man, westerners are just plain hopeless! I’ve had it with them! Even a newborn kimyuus wouldn’t be such complete and utter cowards!” Balan grumbled while stuffing his cheeks with myamuu giba.

Aldas was unusually eating a giba burger, and he somewhat listlessly said, “Cut it out, Pops. If the last incident proved anything, it’s that the more of a fuss we cause, the more problems it makes for Asuta. Looking back at it, we should’ve just left those ranting westerners be.”

“What?! Then who’d take responsibility if we couldn’t eat this delicious food anymore, eh?! Besides, at least when it comes to today, you clearly lost your cool more than I did, Aldas!”

“That’s what I’m regretting now. Why do we have to be so short-tempered?” Aldas said with a slump of his shoulders, seeming quite unlike his usual self. “We’re getting this delicious food in the end, after all, so what point was there to us making a fuss? Still, if someone from the castle had come out from the start, it wouldn’t have turned into such a big ordeal.”

“That’s for sure! The guys from the castle are even more cowardly and lazy than the townsfolk, but I’ve got to at least praise the ones who showed up today.”

That seemed to be his earnest perspective as a southerner.

Still, it honestly wasn’t all that different than when they were covering for the Suun clan. I didn’t know exactly what the people from the castle were thinking, allowing us to keep doing business, but the ruling today must have caused the townsfolk to think, “The people of the forest’s edge really do get favorable treatment.”

“Hey, you’re not going to skip work for tonight’s dinner, are you?” Pops asked with a glare my way.

“I’m not. Naudis actually requested that I not take time off, too,” I replied.

“Right. I’ve got no issues, then... But if anything else troubling pops up in the future, you better not hesitate to rely on us southerners, Asuta.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I couldn’t exactly go and do such a thing lightly, but I really appreciated the thought.

After Pops’s group left, the members of the Silver Vase showed up to fill the void.

“Asuta, I am glad, you are alright,” Shumiral stated, a pensive look in his eyes.

As Sheera Ruu handed him a completed myamuu giba, I accepted his coins and said, “Thank you. So you were there among all that commotion, too?”

“Yes. But we, were powerless.”

“Ah, but that’s a problem between the people of the forest’s edge and Genos, so it’s up to us to resolve it.”

“Asuta, I believe, the people of the forest’s edge, would fit well, in the eastern kingdom.”

“Huh?”

“The western kingdom, doesn’t value, the people of the forest’s edge. It is strange, to not value, one’s comrades.”

“But the people of the forest’s edge don’t see the citizens of Genos as comrades, either. I don’t believe it’s just one side that’s at fault, there.”

When I said that, Shumiral listlessly cast his gaze downwards.

“My thoughts, were lacking. I am embarrassed.”

“T-That’s not true at all! I’m glad to hear that you were worrying about me that much. I really mean that.”

However, there was no way it would be easy to pack up and move to the eastern kingdom. Just as Gazraan Rutim had hinted at, if they were to all abandon their giba hunting, they could very well end up as enemies of the western kingdom. Even someone from another world like me was painfully aware of just how dangerous that would be.

“The fell star, has vanished. Will there be peace, or decay? I am worried.”

“Right. But we’ll be using everything we have to try to twist fate in the proper direction.”

“If peace comes, then I will bring, the matter we discussed, to The Sledgehammer’s owner.”

With that, Shumiral also left, and our flow of customers came to an abrupt halt.

There was less than an hour left till the sun would hit its peak, and the flow of passersby was steadily increasing, but it was readily apparent that people were feeling hesitant to approach. Even the westerners who defended us may have been afraid to actually come up to the stalls. Afraid that if they were our customers, they could get wrapped up in an incident like what happened earlier.

“My apologies for the wait, Asuta,” Li Sudra stated as she approached.

It could be an issue if she ended up approaching at the same time as Tei Suun, so I asked her to arrive early today. And I added an extra red coin to her pay for the trouble, too.

The Sudra clan head accompanied his wife as always, and he cast his gloomy gaze out towards the road.

“The air feels more turbulent than usual, somehow. I can’t stand the look in the townsfolks’ eyes.”

“Well, we’re right on the heels of what happened yesterday, after all. I think it would be wise to do our best not to stir anyone up.”

“Hmph. I’d keep away from them even if you didn’t tell me to. They’re nothing but cowards, anyway.”

That statement caused me to feel just a bit discouraged. So even friendly clans that approved of the Fa clan’s business felt that way about the citizens of Genos...

By selling giba meat, they could live more prosperous lives. That was why they had promised to help us out, but it seemed they didn’t much sense how important it was for them to reach a mutual understanding with the people of Genos.

In all likelihood, the Ruu clan hadn’t hit that point yet, either. It seemed the basic stance for the people of the forest’s edge was, “Who gives a damn if they love us or hate us?”

Live with pride, not fearing what others think. Don’t care how others evaluate you. Have confidence in the path you’ve chosen... That was the unique way of thinking characteristic of the people of the forest’s edge, which was both a powerful strength and weakness for them.

I felt that honest and pure way of life they had was incredibly precious. However, the way that they kept away from people different than them and treated them as corrupt was exactly what invited the downfall of the Suun clan and the discord with Genos, wasn’t it?

That was precisely why Donda Ruu’s words were both unexpected and like a sign of a new era when he stated that rather than cut down the members of the Suun clan for their crimes, we should share in their atonement.

But this whole commotion had been waiting right after. If Zattsu Suun just hadn’t escaped... Well, I guess there’s no point complaining about that now, though, I thought to myself as the Sudra clan finished getting into formation.

Li Sudra and the youngest of the men remained at the stall, while the other three fell back to the thicket. They had done the exact same yesterday and the day before, but we had already discussed in advance how they should move to encircle Tei Suun should he appear.

With that, our preparations were complete. No matter when Tei Suun showed up, we could deal with him immediately.

The real concern was the townsfolk. The number of passersby was a little on the low side, but there were still a lot of them compared to in the morning. And up through yesterday there were usually five or six guards hanging around, but now I only saw two of them to the north.

It was probably for the best that there weren’t many guards, but what about the passersby? They would see Tei Suun, the great criminal of the forest’s edge, dressed as one of them as he approached, and then he would be captured by our hands.

Would it just result in more opposition from folks feeling like the people of the forest’s edge went and caused another incident? Would it incite fear in them, seeing hunters running wild?

I wasn’t confident in the least that we really had chosen the correct path.

“Asuta...” Ai Fa quietly whispered.

I turned and saw that she was staring north from her position between the two stalls. After following her gaze, I suddenly gulped. That group clad in white from this morning was now heading our way from up the road.

The north... that was the direction the castle was in.

What, so they didn’t just retreat back into their castle?

Just like this morning, there were ten of them. And sure enough, their leader Melfried was standing at the head. That group of soldiers in white armor was solemnly heading down the stone highway back into the post town.

After receiving a salute from the guards positioned to the north, they kept on moving towards the lively southern part of town, not paying our stalls so much as a glance. Melfried’s grey eyes just kept on looking straight ahead as they passed.

“Could they be on guard against an attack from Tei Suun, too?” Ai Fa whispered into my ear after giving her position to one of the young folks from the Sudra. “It’s rare for people from the castle to roam around town like that. This could prove a bit troublesome.”

“Yeah, it’d be a disaster if they ran into Tei Suun.”

That guy with the reptilian gaze would surely have no problem just cutting Tei Suun down in the middle of the road. After all, he himself had failed to finish off the criminal just yesterday.

“That man has the same air about him as the eldest Ruu son...”

“Hmm? You’re saying he’s like Jiza Ruu?”

“You don’t think so? He has an iron conviction that the law is all that matters.”

“Hmm... I’d say Jiza Ruu has a more human feel than him, though...”

But if Jiza Ruu ever opened his narrow eyes wide, maybe his pupils would look every bit as cold... The very thought sent a chill down my spine.

The captain of the ducal guard and the first son of the lord of Genos, Melfried... Also known as Haan of Dabagg, The Twin Fangs.

It sounded like a joke that such a nobleman would be hiding his face behind filthy bandages to play at being a bodyguard, but it was no laughing matter. And there didn’t seem to be any mistaking that, either. His firm build, two longswords, ivory-white skin... and on top of that, he had the same voice that Ai Fa and I had heard call Zattsu Suun scum.

Plus, there were those chilly, reptilian grey eyes. Others may feel differently, but I didn’t believe it would be possible to run into two folks with gazes like that in a single town.

Still, it’s hard to believe that the son of the lord is acting as Kamyua’s partner... Ah, maybe it’s the other way around? Did Melfried come up with the plan, and then got Kamyua to help out? At any rate, it’s just plain awful.

At the very least, this seemed to be proof that Kamyua Yoshu hadn’t concocted the whole plan with the caravan on his own, as he indeed had help from the castle.

What was Kamyua Yoshu doing now, and where? That damn professional liar...

The people of the forest’s edge are in a seriously precarious position. If we act poorly, the relationship with Genos could get even worse, to the point where it wouldn’t even be possible to fix it. Is that what Kamyua was intending? Or was all this unexpected for him, too?

Would I get another chance to talk to that aloof guy? I mean, it wasn’t like I seriously hated him or anything. It’s just that I honestly felt, in my bones, that I couldn’t trust him, so I had to keep a degree of distance from him.

But if it turned out everything Kamyua Yoshu had said about respecting the people of the forest’s edge was a big old lie... That would surely put us in opposition to him.

And yet... If they hadn’t gone and set that trap, Milano Mas and Leito’s frustrations and regrets may have never gotten cleared away...

That thought caused me to feel even more gloomy.

I wanted Kamyua Yoshu to be more of a man of the town than the castle. If that was the case, then even if we ended up on opposite sides, I could avoid having to hate him.

“Asuta, there are only three giba burgers left. What should I do...?” Vina Ruu asked in her usual tone.

“Just three, huh? That was surprisingly quick. Since the sun’ll be hitting its peak soon, we should go ahead and make some more now while we have the chance.”

With that, I left the myamuu giba stall to Sheera Ruu and Li Sudra, then headed over to the giba burger stall. In the same instant, Ludo Ruu approached from the thicket to the rear.

“Huh? What is it, Ludo—”

“He’s here.”

Those two words alone were enough, at least for everyone but me.

Vina and Lala Ruu silently left the stall and headed over to Sheera Ruu and Li Sudra. The four Sudra men then moved to surround them and the entire myamuu giba stall.

Ai Fa stepped out in front of the giba burger stall, while Ludo Ruu remained at my left. Then, Rau Lea and Shin Ruu also walked up to my left side.

There must have still been around a half hour or so till the sun would hit its peak. And yet, Tei Suun had arrived.

That’s him, huh...?

There was a well-built man in a hooded cloak of brown leather taking almost mechanical steps our way. He had pulled his hood down far enough that it was hard to make out his face, like how folks from Sym wore them. However, I could still see his lower jaw, and the skin color matched that of the people of the forest’s edge.

His steps were confident enough that it was hard to believe he was heavily wounded. That must have been how he was able to pass through the bustling southern road without arousing suspicion from the passersby as he headed towards the giba burger stall.

He was now less than two meters from Ai Fa. Rau Lea stood directly across from her, to Tei Suun’s right, while Shin Ruu circled around behind him. I took just two steps back, and then Ludo Ruu slipped into that space.

With that, Tei Suun was now surrounded on all four sides. Everyone had a hand on their knives, and were clearly prepared to cut him down at any moment.

Tei Suun’s lowered face then lifted and stared my way over Ludo Ruu’s shoulders. As always, his eyes were muddied and reminded me of a dead fish.

“I arrived a bit early, it seems. The number of guards around turned out to be less than I expected.”

“Yeah, but there are soldiers from the castle doing rounds about town in their place. And it wouldn’t be strange in the least for them to come back this way at any moment.”

“I see... I don’t have any coins on my person, but would it still be possible to eat your cooking?”

“We have conditions,” Ludo Ruu replied. “Hand over your blade. If you do that, we’ll let you eat Asuta’s cooking. As the youngest son of the main Ruu house, Ludo Ruu, you have my word.”

It was then that one of the guards to the north called out in a flustered tone, “Hey! What are you all up to over there?! Don’t go acting all suspicious!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Ai Fa shot Tei Suun a piercing glare and then responded, “This man is the wanted criminal from the Suun clan! We wish to hand him over to you, so please prepare yourselves!”

“T-The criminal?! Don’t be stupid! That man was slashed and left in a state where even if he was alive, he wouldn’t be able to move properly!”

“I don’t know anything of all that! But this man truly is here, standing in front of us! And we would like to hand him over to Genos alive if possible!”

“G-Go call for backup...! And you all better not let him escape, alright?!”

One of the guards then took off flying south down the road, while the other just stood there and stared, not taking a single step our way.

Meanwhile, a number of passersby stopped in place, their faces full of fear and bewilderment.

“So, now what? It shouldn’t be long till the guards come streaming our way. Make up your mind as to how you wish to use the time left to you,” Ludo Ruu stated, and Tei Suun slowly lifted both arms in response.

Ai Fa, Rau Lea, and Shin Ruu all had the eyes of hunters as they watched over the scene.

Tei Suun then removed the clasp at his neck, and the long cloak he was wearing fell to the ground.

And in that very instant, I gasped.

Tei Suun was clad in the familiar attire of the forest’s edge, with those beautiful swirling patterns. However, it was slashed all the way from his right shoulder to his left flank, with a horrifying wound unmistakably showing through the hole. The truly massive injury was held roughly shut using fibaha vines.

“How are you still able to stand...?”

“It’s because I’m still not permitted to die just yet,” Tei Suun emotionlessly replied as he reached for the knife at his hip.

As the gazes watching him grew even sharper, he dropped it at Ai Fa’s feet, still held in its leather sheath. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ai Fa kicked it over towards the Sudra men.

With that, Tei Suun was left completely unarmed.

Ai Fa, Rau Lea, and Shin Ruu all took another step towards the man. There was no need to get any closer than that, as they could now easily draw their blades and cut him down in a moment.

“So, can I now have some of your cooking?”

“Yeah...”

After looking Ludo Ruu in the eye to confirm, I stepped out in front of the stall.

There were now only meters between me and Tei Suun, with a big metal pot in the middle. However, he wasn’t making any questionable moves, so the four hunters didn’t swing their blades for the moment.

As I strongly prayed in my head that things wouldn’t come to that, I grabbed hold of a poitan. Then I added diced up aria and tino on top, scooped a patty out of the pot, poured on plenty of tarapa sauce, and finally placed another poitan on top.

“Sorry for the wait.”

I then passed the giba burger to Ludo Ruu, who handed it in turn to Tei Suun.

Showing no emotion whatsoever, Tei Suun quickly took a bite.

Would that really be enough to satisfy him?

Tei Suun mechanically chewed away, and the giba burger disappeared in no time at all. And as that was going on, the number of onlookers seemed to steadily grow. However, there was still no sign of the guards or soldiers.

“So are you satisfied now?” Ludo Ruu asked.

“I am,” Tei Suun replied, closing his eyes. “It was absolutely delicious. I can certainly understand how Mida Suun became so fixated, as well as how people of the west would go so far as to pay coins for such food.”

“In that case, place your hands behind your back. We’ll bind you before handing you over to the guards.”

“Very well. However, I also must apologize to you before that, Asuta of the Fa clan. You see, it was actually a lie when I said I wished to eat your cooking in order to confirm your strength.”

“Huh?”

In that moment, I felt my heart weirdly leap out of my chest.

However, Tei Suun’s eyes remained closed, and his intense face broke out in a gentle smile.

“The truth is, I simply wished to eat your cooking one more time before I died. The food I ate on the night of the clan head meeting... It filled me with awe... And so I apologize from the depths of my heart for deceiving you and making you go through all that trouble.”

“No, that’s—” I started to reply, but I didn’t make it through that sentence.

Just when I felt ready to breathe a sigh of relief, the world went dark.

I had no idea what was going on.

However, I heard Ai Fa angrily shout, “You bastard!” Something broke, someone screamed, there was a firm metallic clang... It was a whole lot of sounds all at once. I could clearly tell something had gone wrong, but I wasn’t able to move freely.

After that moment of darkness, my vision recovered, and things looked entirely different than they had mere seconds ago.

Now, rather than seeing Tei Suun with a gentle, satisfied smile, I was staring at Ai Fa brandishing a knife. Ludo Ruu, Rau Lea, and Shin Ruu were there too. And their eyes were all blazing with uncontrollable rage.

A pot had fallen near Ludo Ruu’s feet. Was that the one I had been using? There was tarapa sauce spilled all over the ground...

And behind the hunters, I could see the terrified faces of the townsfolk... They weren’t all westerners, either. There were folks from the south and east, too. I could even see some regulars. Out of the corner of my left eye, I could see Tara on the verge of tears, and Dora holding her little shoulders as his own face went completely pale.

I wanted to look at them closer, but I wasn’t able to move my face. That was because someone had their hand around my throat from behind.

The grip was strong enough that it felt like it could snap my neck at any moment, but restrained just enough not to strangle me.

Then, a voice dripping with hatred exploded right next to my ear.

“All of you are sickening traitors! I’ll give you one last bit of payback for destroying the Suun clan!”

The voice was cracking, and made him sound like a different person entirely, but that had undoubtedly come from Tei Suun.

3

“I can’t believe this! How are you not dead?!” Rau Lea yelled, his eyes brimming with rage. “Our blades clearly sliced you! Are you seriously human?!”

“Hmph. I simply used a taboo leaf. I suppose you all know nothing of that, though, since you pay no heed to the bounty of the forest.” His voice was cracking and filled with a mad joy. It really sounded like a different person entirely, but it was definitely Tei Suun’s voice.

He had completely taken us off guard. With his resolve to die... No, with his firm conviction to do so.

An even denser smell of blood than yesterday was streaming into my nostrils. I tried to look down as best I could with just my eyes, and found a disturbing amount of blood pooling by my feet. There were four hunters present, and they most definitely carried out their duty. There was no doubt in my mind that Tei Suun was suffering from fatal wounds.

However, it seemed that Tei Suun’s convictions had surpassed such matters of common sense. Apparently, he was now standing in the thicket behind the stalls, and he had a firm grip on my throat.

Just what sort of battle had occurred for things to end up like this? I had no idea whatsoever.

However, it wasn’t as if I had lost consciousness. No, it had all happened in an instant when I blinked. Tei Suun must have leapt over the stall and charged me like a beast, while three hunters sliced into his back.

But how had he avoided Ludo Ruu, who was positioned so as to guard me? I hadn’t seen it, so I could only speculate, but I could make some assumptions from how the boy’s broken blade now lay on the ground, while he was now gripping his hatchet. As he leapt my way, Tei Suun must have grabbed hold of the pot from the stall and used it to block Ludo Ruu’s attack. Now that I thought back, I did recall hearing the sound of clashing metal, so that would explain how the youngest Ruu son’s blade had broken.

Once I thought things through that far with my somewhat stunned brain, Tei Suun started talking again in that hateful tone.

“I can’t go and die until I’ve properly punished you all for pointing your blades at the Suun clan, the rightful leaders of our people! It’s only fitting that I take this brat who destroyed us with me when I go!”

“That’s insane! You’re the ones who broke the laws of the forest’s edge, so you’ve got no right to call yourselves the leading clan! Just let Asuta go and die already, you stubborn bastard!” Ludo Ruu shouted, looking no less angry than Rau Lea.

However, Tei Suun answered with laughter every bit as devilish as what had come from Zattsu Suun yesterday.

“The laws of the forest’s edge and the town have nothing to do with this! The great Zattsu Suun was trying to grant us new laws and a new order in place of them! You damn fools just weren’t able to understand his grand intentions! You’re all weaklings unable to do anything but serve the townsfolk! You freely gave away our one and only means of resisting them!”

“I’m tired of hearing that crap! You talk about new laws and order, but you bastards just skulked around like bandits!”

“We simply tried to take back the fortune that was unjustly stolen from us! We wished to get ahold of our just reward for risking our lives to protect the fields of Genos! The ones who should be ashamed are the citizens of Genos, who wish to keep us trapped at the forest’s edge while they line their pockets!”

Was that voice seriously coming from a man who had suffered fatal wounds? I mean, it was every bit as loud and enthusiastic as Donda Ruu’s.

There was also an unbelievable amount of strength in the fingers grasping my neck. For some reason Tei Suun only had his right hand on my neck, but if I tried to move in the least those fingers would crush down on my neck as if to punish me. And as pathetic as it was to admit, I had to stand there like a fool and just listen to the exchange.

“So damn stubborn! So are you saying that’s reason enough to play at being petty criminals?! It’d be better to just die than to resort to something so shameless!”

“Then go ahead and die! Get stabbed to death by a giba out in the forest! Die feeling grateful for those mere few coins you get for your horns and tusks! That’s the fate Genos gave to the people of the forest’s edge, after all!”

“You bastard...!” Ludo Ruu cursed, his eyes burning even more intensely.

I then noticed that the other three had moved to encircle us.

The three hunters were all holding bloody blades. Rau Lea looked furious and Shin Ruu was expressionless, but both of them had fires burning bright in their eyes. And as for Ai Fa... Ai Fa’s blue eyes were blazing brighter than anyone present, but she also wore the greatest look of grim resolve I had ever seen.

That expression seemed to pierce my very heart, and at last my mind shifted back to reality.

“P-Please, hold on, Tei Suun... You really believe that Zattsu Suun’s teachings were correct...?”

With that, even more strength pressed down on my throat.

“What, are you begging for your life, Fa clan chef? No matter what you say now, I will never forgive you for your crimes! By conspiring with the Ruu, you brought our Suun clan to ruin!”

“No, but—”

“For eighty years, we obeyed the unjust laws thrust upon us by Genos! How many do you think starved to death during that time?! And yet we remained forbidden from touching the bounty of the forest, and kept on earnestly hunting giba! It’s the same for our newborn children, long suffering elders, and hunters who are injured fighting giba... Even without anyone keeping an eye on us, none of them lay a hand on the fruits of the forest, and they just keep on foolishly following those laws till they starve to death! Genos killed all of them! I absolutely cannot accept that as being our proper fate!”

“I don’t agree with that either! That’s why I started doing business here, to bring prosperity to the forest’s edge!” I desperately wrung out, despite the fact that my throat was being crushed.

Tei Suun exploded with laughter once again.

“What foolishness! Why should we need to take such a detour when there’s fruit overflowing right in front of our very eyes?! If we could just partake of the bounty of the forest, we’d have no need for coins at all! That’s the proper way to live for people who take the forest as their god!”

“But that would leave the western fields to be overrun by giba! The people of the forest’s edge are also citizens of the western kingdom, so wouldn’t the proper way of living be for everyone to support one another?!”

“That was why we needed even greater strength! And we would obtain it if no one were to starve any longer! With that our five hundred brethren could grow to over a thousand, allowing us to hunt more giba than ever before! And in turn, no giba would attack those fields even with us taking as much as we please from the forest!”

So that really was it... I thought to myself.

At his core, Zattsu Suun was driven by the same principles as me, Ai Fa, and Gazraan Rutim. By the desire to bring greater prosperity to the forest’s edge...

“Then... Then why did you neglect your duty to hunt giba for these past ten years? Nobody would approve of attacking travelers and pillaging fields, but if you had at least kept acting as hunters and properly explained the importance of gathering strength... If you had explained the need to gather the bounty of the forest, then at least some of the clans may have agreed, right? Then if you talked things over with Genos and got permission to harvest from the forest, everyone would have praised the Suun as a great leading clan!”

“You fool! That’s no different than licking Genos’s boots like we’ve done till now! We must instead shatter the false way of life they’ve given us to pieces!”

“Hey, you didn’t answer Asuta’s question, you shameless criminal. Why did the Suun clan neglect its duty as hunters?” Rau Lea pressed.

“That’s because of you bastards under the Ruu,” Tei Suun spat back. “You’ve been baring your fangs at the Suun clan for 20 years now. And so we needed to start by gaining enough strength to overcome you! Otherwise, the other clans would fear your wrath and pay our words no heed. And so, we were steadily, quietly amassing power while protecting our people and fortune!”

“That’s ridiculous... So you’re saying that’s why you didn’t work as hunters, and instead spent ten years playing at being bandits and idly enjoying yourselves? So what did that get you, then? Just a handful of coins, and the complete loss of your pride and strength as hunters as your clan weakened, right?”

“That’s...! That’s because Zuuro Suun lacked the strength needed to carry on Zattsu Suun’s great ambitions! If Zattsu Suun had only stayed healthy, by now we would all be living proud, proper lives!”

“Then you should be hating the former clan head for falling ill before he could bring that ambition to light, and his successor for being so pathetic. Instead, you just kept blathering about that ambition as you fell to greater and greater depths of depravity, didn’t you?” Then, with a ferocious expression still on his face and the look of a hunting dog blazing in his eyes, Rau Lea tilted his head. “Plus, everything you’re saying just sounds like excuses. I mean, nobody but you and Zattsu Suun have been blabbering about that ‘great ambition’ this whole time. So in the end, it was just you two worrying about that nonsense, right?”

“Yes, that’s true! In these past ten years, all others who knew of Zattsu Suun’s great will passed away! Zuuro Suun was the only other one aware of it, but he grew utterly corrupt! And so... And so, there was nothing left for the Suun clan but destruction!”

“Then it makes even less sense for you to hate the Ruu and Fa, doesn’t—” Rau Lea started to say in an astonished tone, only for shrieks and murmuring to sound out from the crowd.

Those white-clad soldiers, the ducal guards of Genos, had arrived.

“So you were still alive after all, criminal. A filthy monster like you stepping foot into the town of Genos is a crime worthy of certain death.”

The group of ten soldiers were confidently marching forward, their leader Melfried standing at the head of the group.

However, Ai Fa stood in their way.

“Hold on! What are you planning on doing?!”

“That much should be obvious. We will punish this criminal.”

“You fools! Asuta has... My clan member has clearly been captured! If you approach carelessly, you’ll just cause him to be harmed!”

“I of course have eyes, too. Worry not, woman of the forest’s edge. I’ll send that criminal’s head flying before he can do anything improper.”

“As if you could manage such a thing! You clearly underestimate the strength possessed by hunters of the forest’s edge!”

With her back to us, Ai Fa lifted her blade.

Melfried’s grey reptilian eyes somehow grew even chillier.

“You raise a blade towards me, woman of the forest’s edge? That is a difficult crime to forgive.”

“That’s insane! Don’t you see how he’s smiling away calmly despite how heavily he’s wounded?! What if he snaps Asuta’s neck while you’re aiming for his head?!” Ludo Ruu shouted, also turning Melfried’s way.

In the same instant, Tei Suun started laughing like a devil once again.

“That’s perfect! Kill each other! That’s exactly what you should have been doing this whole time! Until one side destroys the other, the hatred between the people of the forest’s edge and the citizens of Genos will never vanish!”

“That’s enough, Tei Suun. Your words don’t have so much as a shred of logic behind them. You’re just wailing away to distract us from the terror you’re feeling at being unable to accept your own death, aren’t you?” Shin Ruu rather calmly chimed in.

However, Tei Suun’s laughter showed no signs of stopping.

“There’s no fear in my heart! The Suun clan has already met with its fate! So all that’s left for me is to take this unforgivable traitor down with me!”

“Doing that won’t save your soul. Let go of Asuta.”

“Oh, I will! After I’ve snuffed out his life, that is!”

As Tei Suun kept cackling away, Melfried drew his blades. Not just the one, but both of them. And as he held those silver swords in each of his hands, he stared coldly ahead at Ai Fa.

“Step aside. Otherwise, I will have to cut you down as well.”

“I have no intention of crossing blades with anyone from the castle... I’m begging you, please step back,” Ai Fa replied, her voice trembling with emotion.

The soldiers behind Melfried also gripped their pikes tightly.

I could almost hear the air around us come to a boil...

And then, a familiar aloof voice completely blew all that away.

“Cut it out, already. There’s no point to you guys fighting each other.”

It was a tall, lanky man in a long leather cloak.

The man had appeared as if out of thin air, and stood there ruffling his unkempt blond hair.

“This is no time for you to be getting involved. Please keep out of this, Kamyua Yoshu,” Melfried answered while still keeping his eyes fixed on Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu.

But as he trotted on over, Kamyua Yoshu just stated, “That’s not true at all,” in a voice utterly lacking in tension. “You and Ai Fa are both my precious friends. It’s pretty cruel to say I’ve got nothing to do with you two fighting, Melfried.”

“Then do something about this woman of the forest’s edge. I have a duty to uphold the law and keep order.”

“That’s true. But I owe the people of the forest’s edge, too. After all, I went and did something pretty sneaky to them. And so, I feel I truly need to make it up to them for that,” Kamyua Yoshu stated, coming to stand between Ai Fa and Melfried. In that position, it would be impossible for him to dodge if either one of them swung their blade. And then, without so much as lifting his arms out from under his cloak, Kamyua Yoshu turned his back to Ai Fa and us so that he was facing the captain of the ducal guard. “I already fulfilled your request, right? So this time, please listen to mine... It’s only right that we let the people of the forest’s edge settle this themselves.”

After a few seconds of silence, Melfried returned his left blade to its sheath.

Kamyua Yoshu said, “Thanks,” then turned towards my clan head. “I leave the rest to you, Ai Fa. Please, save Asuta.”

Without saying so much as a word, Ai Fa did an about face and approached us.

“Tei Suun, I understand that you are filled with regrets. But what good would it do to take Asuta down with you? Doing so would accomplish nothing... In fact, adding to your crimes will only make it harder on your family,” Ai Fa very calmly stated.

“What ‘family’?!” Tei Suun spat. “Anyone who dared yield to the Ruu while holding the Suun name is no family of mine! The only man I call my ally is Zattsu Suun, who lost his life while overflowing with regret!”

“Is that how you truly feel? That ‘great ambition’ is more important to you than your bonds of blood?”

As she talked, Ai Fa did something bizarre. She spread her arms out wide, then indicated for Rau Lea and Shin Ruu to step back. After a second of hesitation, the pair obeyed.

Ai Fa casually lowered her knife, then took a few steps more towards us.

“What are you doing? If you come any closer, I’ll crush your clan member’s neck... Well, I don’t believe my life will last much longer anyway, though, so you can’t change how this ends no matter what you do.”

“Do you hate Asuta that much? All he’s done is try to bring prosperity to the forest’s edge. He has given that goal his all, so that none of our people will have to starve to death any longer. If the Suun clan held the same ambitions, then can you not see the ones to inherit that task are Asuta, the Fa clan, and the Ruu?”

“All you’re doing is wagging your tails at your masters from Genos! No matter how much prosperity such methods may bring, they will never give us back our pride!”

“That’s not true at all! I... No, all of us want to live together in harmony with Genos, not just follow them obediently! Our hope is to live together under the same laws as comrades, rather than try to trample all over what exists now!” I desperately interjected while staring into Ai Fa’s eyes. I felt I had to, considering the grim resolve readily apparent on her face.

“Comrades, you say? You would call Genos our comrades after how they have unjustly oppressed us?! You fool! Genos is an enemy we must force to submit!”

“I don’t believe that! And I can’t imagine Ai Fa and these folks from the Ruu do, either! The people of the forest’s edge have obeyed the law of their own will, so even if it’s unjust, no one has felt like they’ve been oppressed! If the Suun clan alone holds such regrets... Then they must have come from the castle.” There were folks from the castle standing right nearby, of course, but I couldn’t continue on without saying that. “The Ruu, Zaza, and Sauti will take up those frustrations in your place. They’re acting as the leading clans instead of the Suun now, and will be the ones to interact with the castle. And so those regrets held by the Suun clan alone will then be felt by the whole of the forest’s edge. And yet, we will strive with all our might to form proper bonds with them, rather than submitting. And so... Won’t you please entrust us with the future of the forest’s edge?”

“What are you, stupid...?” Tei Suun questioned, his voice positively dripping with hatred. “What do I care for the future of the forest’s edge?! I’ll soon be dead! Zattsu Suun has already passed, too! Ruin and despair is the only fitting fate for a world where the Suun clan has fallen! The forest’s edge, this town, and the castle can all be destroyed for all I care!”

No good, huh? I thought to myself, gnashing my teeth.

It may not even be possible to wipe away Tei Suun’s hatred with my words.

“Then take my life as a final souvenir...” Ai Fa muttered powerlessly.

As my eyes went wide with shock, she took yet another step forward.

“I told you, don’t come any closer! Do you really think you can make an opening by stating such nonsense, clan head of the Fa?”

“That’s not my intention at all. I simply have no intention of shamelessly living on after my clan member faces such harm in front of my very eyes... If you’re going to kill Asuta, then do the same to me!”

“Ai Fa! What are you saying?!”

It didn’t suit Ai Fa at all, saying something like that while choking back tears.

And no matter how hard of a situation she had been placed in, to choose death... That was something the Ai Fa I knew would never do.

As she hung her head in despair, Ai Fa dropped the sword at her hip to her feet. Then, she moved the knife she was holding to her left hand and flipped it so the handle was pointed our way.

“You can take my life using this blade. If at all possible, I would prefer it that you kill me first... I don’t wish to see Asuta die.”

“Stop! Don’t come closer! I won’t play into your crafty plot! You intend to hand that blade to this brat rather than me, don’t you?!”

“What are you saying? Asuta is no stronger than your average woman. No matter how injured you may be, you should be able to easily grab the blade before him, right?”

As Ai Fa went to step forward again, Tei Suun wailed, “Stop right there! My right arm can’t move! Your blades must have severed the muscles in my right shoulder. So thanks to that, I can only take one of you down with me! I’ll be strangling this brat to death soon, so if you want to die so badly, then stab yourself in the throat!”

“I see...” Ai Fa muttered. “So you truly can’t move your right arm after all, Tei Suun.”

In the next instant, Tei Suun’s intense grip on my neck finally loosened. Ai Fa leapt forward in the same moment, and she ripped my body away from the crazed man.

Then, somewhere far away, there was a shrill shriek. It must have come from the crowd gathered by the side of the road.

Ai Fa collapsed to the ground, still cradling me.

Then, while pressing me to the earth, she lifted her torso and slashed at the empty space behind her with her knife, now held in a proper grip.

It seemed that caution was completely unnecessary, though. As he leaned up against a tree, a great deal of blood gushed forth from Tei Suun’s throat and left shoulder, and he collapsed on the spot.

“What... the...?” I muttered without thinking as I slowly sat up.

Ludo Ruu’s group, Kamyua Yoshu, and Melfried all hadn’t moved. And yet, Tei Suun sat there positively drowning in blood.

I foolishly thought for a second maybe this was all a nightmare rather than reality... But then I noticed a small figure emerge from behind the tree Tei Suun was leaning against.

“You shameless fool... Your Suun clan cast aside their pride to live without hardship, so what would you know of the pain of losing your child to starvation?” Shockingly, it was the Sudra clan head of all people. That small, gloomy looking man flicked the blood off his knife before sheathing it, then he turned towards the captain of the ducal guard. “The criminal from the forest’s edge has been dealt with. Did I break any of your laws in the process?”

“The order given was for that criminal to be captured dead or alive. None of our laws will judge you.”

“I see. Glad to hear it,” the Sudra clan head muttered, not sounding proud of his victory in the least.

He must have slipped away from the myamuu giba stall when he saw Ai Fa and the others grab Tei Suun’s attention, then slowly, carefully moved around to the thicket while hiding his presence. Then, he sliced the criminal’s shoulder from behind, and while Ai Fa was securing me, slashed the man’s throat.

“Clan head of the Fa, thanks to your quick wits, I was able to get the jump on this fiend. To think that he really wasn’t able to move his right arm...”

“I also have to give you my gratitude for saving my clan member’s life. I can never thank you enough for that,” Ai Fa solemnly replied as her left hand firmly gripped my right.

That warmth and strength felt incredibly precious to me as I slowly rose to my feet.

Then, together with Ai Fa, I walked over towards Tei Suun.

Was there really this much blood within a single human body? At any rate, as he sat in that overwhelming dark red pool, Tei Suun’s expressionless face stared blankly into the distance. As always, I couldn’t sense any emotion from him, and his eyes were cloudy like those of a dead fish.

What sort of expression had he worn just moments ago when he was spitting out those hate-filled curses? I hadn’t been able to see, and I honestly couldn’t even imagine.

“Tei Suun...” Despite the fact that it meant getting coated in blood, I kneeled down next to the man. As the light steadily faded from his murky eyes, he listlessly glanced my way. “On the night of the clan head meeting, were you the one who helped Ai Fa?”

As if refusing to answer, Tei Suun closed his eyes. However, before the weak movements of his chest completely ceased, he slowly opened his eyes once again. And then, his blood-soaked face broke out in the same gentle, satisfied smile he had worn after eating the giba burger.

“At last, I’ve carried out my final task...”

Those were the last words spoken by Tei Suun, a man born to a branch family of the leading clan, who spent fifty years being trifled with by a man overflowing with wicked strength.