[Part 1/4]
Shiromoku city's gate, where the sun has set, was aglow with colorful lights.
People do not gather here without reason. Thriving cities have their own reasons. Just like prosperous cities on trade routes, the characteristics of Shiromoku's gate have been established.
Warehouses sprawl to store the influx of goods, and nearby, financial merchants like money changers and lenders line the street for the convenience of visiting clients. Laborers are required to transport goods, and caretakers for the horses and oxen pulling carts, as well as guards for protection, are also necessary. These intermediaries are likewise essential. They keep their shops open day and night to accommodate requests from traveling merchants.
The presence of individuals with various skills naturally leads to the prosperity of inns. Ranging from upscale inns rented by Onitsuki and Tachibana's family to simple lodgings with just enough space to sleep, the city is teeming with such establishments. Inns are always in short supply, and a situation where they're deserted has never occurred.
Due to the constant flow of people, the entertainment industry in the city has also flourished. Aside from eateries, wholesale businesses that supply them with ingredients are thriving. Theatrical troupes and other forms of entertainment are also doing well. In the summer, the city's wealthy merchants even commission artisans to hold fireworks festivals to attract crowds.
"Hey there, miss! How about dropping by our shop?"
"Oh, no. Thank you for your offer... I apologize!"
Merchants are shrewd. They can quickly discern whether someone is a sophisticated city girl or a naive country girl. The street touts frequently call out to Suzune, who scans the bustling city with curiosity. Each time, she evades their advances and moves away. Moving away, she continues to look around. Searching for that person. Searching for his back. But...
"I've lost sight of him..."
The maid muttered, taken aback. She hadn't been distracted by something else. However...
It happened in an instant. The flow of people filling the street, the back that disappeared for a moment. She hurriedly pushed through the crowd. The figure vanished as if it were an illusion. Still, she searched desperately here and there for that figure... But it seemed futile to continue searching any longer.
"..."
In silence, the maid stood on the main street. Amidst the surrounding commotion and the flow of people, Suzune felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. It seemed as if she had been abandoned.
Yes, just like that time...
"Ridiculous..."
Suzune denied the emotions that came to her mind. The confusion she had experienced since waking up from a nightmare had finally subsided. It was utterly foolish. What was she thinking? Whom was she associating with him? It was an insult. Not just to her brother. It was a severe insult to him as well.
An act of compensation... an imposition. It was a denial of her memories. A denial of the personality of that servant. Despicable. An utterly shameless act.
"I have to go back..."
Having made up her mind, Suzune turned on her heel. She would apologize to him tomorrow... She was about to hurry back, driven by her impulsive desire to leave the inn without permission, when she realized...
"...Which direction was it?"
Standing alone in the midst of the bustling main street, the maid murmured with an ominous premonition.
To put it simply, her situation can be summarized as "lost"...
"It's not good. It's a little bit bad..."
After how much time had passed since then? Suzune wished it hadn't been long. She wandered through the crowded city, utterly lost.
To be honest, at first, she had thought she could easily retrace her steps. She had been too optimistic. She had been so focused on chasing after that servant's back that she had completely forgotten the route she had taken. No, she wouldn't have followed without permission in the first place... whatever the case, as she muttered to herself, the situation had taken a rather unfavorable turn.
Trying to head to a place away from the entertainment district, however, had the opposite effect. As she approached the outskirts of the deserted entertainment district, the appearance of the shops on the street was changing to something rather eerie. Dirty shops where it was unclear what they were selling, and ill-mannered pedestrians. On the narrow side streets, vagrants and women with suspicious looks peered at her, whispering to each other.
Amidst this, the figure of a maid with a fairly decent appearance stood out in a negative way. One could even say she stood out against the backdrop of the surroundings.
"I have to get back soon...!!"
Glancing around, Suzune muttered. She was getting anxious. She was, after all, in a position to follow her master's orders. Though she always kept protective equipment on her, her arms were empty. She needed to somehow make it back to the inn before things took a turn for the worse... It was just after she had been thinking that.
"Pant... Pant!?"
"Huh!? Eek!?"
She turned towards the panting and running sounds. At the same time, a small body leapt towards her. Suzune instinctively caught the figure and stepped back, letting out a scream.
Into her embrace, a small person had jumped.
"W-What's...!?"
"I-I'm sorry!!?"
Suzune was puzzled. The figure that had leaped into her embrace was a child with a coat covering their face. The child apologized, and then slipped away from her side, resuming their escape.
"Huh...!!?"
As she stared in astonishment at the child who had fled into the side street, another figure followed. This time, it was a much larger, adult male figure. There were multiple of them. They were chasing after the girl into the side street.
"..."
Suzune watched the scene in silence, unable to articulate anything. Soon after, a perplexing thought crossed her mind. She was agitated. She was torn. Shouldn't she just leave unrelated people alone? It was foolish to involve herself in others' affairs when she was lost.
Her rationality demanded that she forget about the suspicious scene from before. But the scales that had momentarily tipped in that direction were halted by memories of the past that suddenly resurfaced.
Ignoring it... would that really be okay? The scene from earlier was clearly abnormal. It wasn't an atmosphere of simple theft. There was something more sinister about it.
"Could it be..."
She had heard that there had been several cases of disappearances in this city of late. Could that child be a victim of some crime in progress? If so...
"Ah...!!"
Suzune mentally berated herself for her reflexive movement. She should have just let it be. She should have ignored it. What was she thinking, putting herself in danger like this!?
"But..."
However, she couldn't say the next word. No time for that. She swiftly hid behind an object, holding something in her pocket and she glanced into it—a kid trapped against a wall in a narrow alleyway.
Suzune hopes that she is mistaken or she makes hasty assumption. However, that thought doesn't come true.
The pursuers who hiding their faces, draw blades from their coats. The child clutching something is shocked by the scene before them, unable to believe it.
The people chasing them keep coming, not stopping. The kid screams in fear, but the pursuers don't hear or care about the screams. They take out their sharp weapons. And then...
"Hyah!!?"
"Ugh!!?"
"What the!!?"
Unable to endure any further... Suzune, running on the unpaved, muddy ground, puts all her strength into throwing it. She throws a sphere.
"Gyaa...!!?"
"Ugh!?"
The dark alleyway is filled with blinding light. It's the light of a flashball. In the sudden burst of light and the booming sound that pierces the darkness, the pursuers cover their eyes and ears. Their vision is blinded, and they press their hands to their eyes while letting out screams.
After the attack with Namahage, flashballs were given out for protection and getting away. They were handed out to fight against youkai, and they were made extra strong to work against shadowy ones. A crazy burst of light and noise...!!
"Come here...!!?"
"Huh!? Wha...!?"
Suzune, who had foreseen the incoming light, used her arms and cloth to shield against the light and sound. Barely maintaining her sight, she ran through the gap between the men. The maid pulled the hand of the pursued child and fled the scene.
"Wait...!!?"
The pursuers try to prevent the child from running, but it was futile. Deprived of their sight and hearing, they couldn't chase after them swiftly. All they could do was curse.
Now, Suzune took the child's hand and ran through the alleyway relentlessly. Occasionally glancing back, she turned left and right on the winding path. She felt the approaching footsteps from afar and grew anxious.
"Huff, huff... Are they still pursuing us!?"
Suzune panted as the persistent footsteps continued, seemingly endless. Kidnapping was undoubtedly illegal. Even though they had failed to capture their target initially, it was unnatural to keep chasing them so relentlessly. If the commotion escalated, the guards might arrive. There were plenty of targets available, so giving up quickly would have been reasonable. Or would it...!?
"Ugh, huff... Oh, excuse me!? I-it's all right now!! Please release my hand!"
The child cried out, their breath heavy. From their voice and tone, Suzune noticed two things. One, the child was a girl. Two, the child wasn't just an ordinary townsperson.
Upon closer inspection, the attire beneath the coat was made of fine fabric. Suzune became certain of the reason the child was targeted.
"I can't do that! You saw it, right!? They had a wakizashi drawn!!"
She didn't know whether they would harm the hostage. But at worst, losing a finger or two to threats was not out of the question. She couldn't simply overlook that.
"It's my responsibility!! I hid this child... Please abandon me!! Even if it's just you, escape...!!"
"What are you saying...!?"
Suzune was puzzled by the girl's plea-like words. She tried to ask what she meant, but lost her composure.
The twisted path ahead led to a dead end.
"Oh no...!?"
Knowing it was futile, Suzune pounded on the wooden wall and grimaced. She tried to turn back, but the footsteps were getting closer. She wouldn't make it in time. Clutching the girl, Suzune desperately thought of a plan. Something, anything...!!?
"Well, well, what a surprise. The little kittens are quite adorable, coming in a pair."
"Huh...!?"
To Suzune, who was preparing for the impending attackers, this felt like an ambush. The voice was strangely sweet and sticky, lingering in her ears. She quickly turned around. She unsheathed her small knife (kogatana) and prepared to strike. And then, it came into her view.
"Oh my, aren't you a feisty one? Kittens though they may be, cats are cats, huh? Hehe, how valiant."
At the intruder's greeting, Suzune couldn't fully comprehend its meaning. All she could do was gaze at the figure before her.
Standing where no one had been just moments ago, there was a peculiar kabuki individual in front of the wooden planks. Their appearance could only be described as such. The coat made of velvet that they wore over their kimono was masculine, despite the feminine attire. They held an unnecessarily big smoking pipe and had a tall yet delicate frame.
"Oh, uh…?"
Suzune looked up. From between the disheveled jet-black hair, eerie amethyst-like eyes peered out, radiating a mysterious glint. It was a languid beauty – not definitively male or female – yet undoubtedly possessing a well-arranged allure that combined an air of otherworldliness with charm.
"Y-you are..."
"Well, plans have gone a bit awry... but well, shall I be your guide, dear guests?"
Ignoring Suzune's question, the intruder smirked. While smirking, they waved their hand in a dancing manner.
"Since you don't have anyone, how about an additional member for your little group? You'll have to pay for it though."
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