KATANAGATARI 3
While the voyage down was not exactly a direct route,47 eventually they made it to a port in Shikoku─where a man in curious dress was waiting for them.
This was the first time Shichika had seen a man wearing a suit.
And on his feet he wore a kind of footwear he had never seen before.
What’s more, he wore a mask that covered half his face─and on the mask was the word “NON-NINJA.”
This strange getup caught Shichika’s eye, but not his interest─while Togame practically exploded when she saw it.
“What the hell are you doing here!” she screamed.
“Not a word,” he rejoindered. “There should be no need to explain, Madame Schemer─I have some business with you. It’s been far too long, but─you’re beautiful as ever.”
“Skip the pleasantries─hey, Shichika! Get this man out of my sight this instant!”
“A-Are you sure?”
Even Shichika was hesitant to follow this outrageous order.
“No good─come now, Madame Schemer. What reason would we have to fight?”
“Cut the crap. Do you honestly think that I don’t know of the resurgence48 of your precious princess? I’m liable to think that you’ve been on our tail─”
“Not far off─that’s basically the truth. But this time, I am only here as a liaison─which doesn’t mean my eyes aren’t open, so to speak, but we have bigger fish to fry. And when I say we─I mean the both of us.”
“…?”
“Hey, Togame─who the heck is this guy?” Shichika finally interrupted, no longer able to endure being excluded from the conversation, but Togame seemed bothered by the question.
“Lieutenant Emonzaemon Soda,”49 she said. “I told you all about Princess Negative on the boat. He’s her trusted aide─or rather, sword50… They call him ‘Emonzaemon the Non-Ninja.’ He’s a former ninja, and the only person who that nasty hater Princess Negative can deign to trust.”
“Not correct─you’ve got it wrong, Madame Schemer. The Princess trusts not even me. As loyal as I am, she denies me─that’s what makes her Princess Negative, and what makes me fit to serve her.”
“…Weirdo.”
“You should talk.”
With that─Emonzaemon started walking.
Not so much as bidding them to follow.
But considering the circumstances─like it or not, they had to follow him.
Messenger of Princess Negative.
This was no incidental meeting51─at the very least, there had to be some link between Emonzaemon waiting for them portside and the monster who had taken on Mt. Shirei.
They kept a safe distance behind him─so that Shichika, a few steps ahead of Togame, could cover52 her and keep an eye on the Lieutenant─in case he tried anything funny.
When they had strayed far from the harbor into town, Emonzaemon finally spoke up.
“It’s too bad that you keep having to turn back from Owari, Madame Schemer. The Princess misses you.”
“Get real, Emonzaemon. When and where did you learn to jest? Have you been banished to the backwater53 and found someone who truly understands you?”
“Not one─I need not find another. No one but the Princess understands me. I mean it when I say she misses you─why don’t you catch the next boat home and surprise her with that stunning hair and pretty little face of yours?”
“Is that what you’ve sailed all the way to Shikoku to tell me?”
“Please.”
“I can’t see a ninja like you making the Katana Pilgrimage.”
“No ninja─as you just mentioned, I am not a ninja─only a former ninja. Can’t you read my mask? These days I make my living as a swordsman─and what’s so strange about a swordsman visiting Gokenji Temple?”
To be sure, Emonzaemon had two katanas slung from his waist, although they didn’t exactly match his bespoke style.
A pair of swords─one big, one small.54
Shichika had spotted them the second they stepped off the boat.
─Those can’t be Shikizaki blades.
They don’t have any lifeforce.
Normal swords.
“What’s so strange, you say… Lt. Emonzaemon, do you really mean to tell me that you’re making the Katana Pilgrimage?”
“Effectively, I am. But Madame Schemer─I do actually have a message for you from the Princess. An order from on high.55 As you continue with your Sword Hunt…”
“Does this involve what happened at Mt. Shirei?”