Akatsuki Translations

“Breakfast.”

Shuou caught the large leaf-wrapped food that was tossed to him as Shara turned around. Sniffing the unfamiliar item, a faint aroma similar to grilled fish wafted out.

Saliva filled his mouth, having just woken up with an empty stomach.

“It’s a rustic dish from Coral. White fish meat kneaded and steamed.”

Upon hearing this, Shuou peeled off the leaf and devoured the plump, white lump of flesh inside. It lacked saltiness but was fragrant, moist, and had a pleasant texture.

“Delicious…”

Shuou inadvertently let out those words, and Shara smiled with satisfaction.

“When I was young, my master who taught me martial arts often brought it as a boxed lunch. I envied how he savored the homemade ones made by his wife, and I begged for a taste. He reluctantly let me try it secretly, saying it was food for the common folk. I couldn’t forget the taste from back then, and even now, I sometimes crave it.”

As Shuou devoured the food while half-listening to her story, Shara cleared her throat and spoke sarcastically.

“No need for gratitude.”

With the food still in his mouth, Shuou hastily and clumsily expressed his thanks.

“…Fank you.”

Shara gave him a lukewarm gaze as if looking at a troublesome younger brother and began walking briskly down the long corridor. Before the rope in her hand could pull taut, Shuou followed behind her, keeping a distance of about two steps.

Somehow, they were out of sync.

He chewed the remaining food in his mouth and thought about it.

Shara was visibly young. Age-wise, it would be more appropriate to call her a child, but her mannerisms and the light emanating from her eyes were like those of a sage who had lived for an eternity. Based on the impression of interacting with her, it felt as though she was much more mature than Adulelia, who had lived for over a hundred years.

However, the sensation of being looked down upon from a higher position by her strangely did not feel unpleasant.

Shuou was still uncertain about how he should approach her.

By the time Shara and Shuou stood in the courtyard, which had been in darkness until just a while ago, sufficient light had reached them from the sun that had barely peeked out from the horizon, allowing them to see.

The stillness of the early morning air was still cold.

For some reason, there was a statue in the center of the courtyard with its upper body magnificently missing. Shara chose that spot and tied the rope to the statue’s foot. It truly felt like a domesticated animal.

“Keep your body moving. I’ll allow it within the permitted range.”

Shara began stretching exercises with a familiar manner.

Applying force to his legs, which had enough slack in the bindings to walk, Shuou started with squats and invigorated each part of his body. Even though it had only been a few days, the time spent in an uncomfortable posture had made his entire body stiff and tense.

Now that he had to face a suddenly proposed match, without even knowing the exact date, he had to regain his usual condition as much as possible.

“Ha!”

Shara let out a light voice and demonstrated what appeared to be some form of martial arts, using the entire spacious courtyard. From a deep lunge followed by a punch, to a heel kick raised high enough to reach the top of her head, she sliced through the air with a thunderous sound.

Shuou watched the continuous graceful techniques, as if she were performing a dance, forgetting to blink.

“Amazing.”

When he called out to her, Shara stopped moving, regulated her breathing, and looked at Shuou. Her face was one of satisfaction.

“Actually, I wanted to show you. How do I look in the eyes of someone recognized by the Sword Saint?”

“I don’t have the confidence to evaluate people. But what you just did was great. Especially your kicks.”

Shara slapped her lustrous copper-colored leg.

“This is a gift from my parents and the gods, bestowed upon me at birth. I’m honestly happy to be praised.”

–I knew it.

Shuou was convinced. The power of Shara’s sunstone probably gave her extraordinary strength in her legs. However, he didn’t think that was all there was to her. The martial arts performance she had just shown was a feat that could only be achieved by someone who had put in considerable effort.

“You’re a swordsman, right? I’d love to see it with my own eyes, but let’s save that pleasure for later.”

Shara resumed her training. The way she freely executed her hands and feet without breaking a sweat was refreshing to watch.

As she delivered kicks in various forms, making the sound of slicing through the wind, the corners of Shara’s mouth gradually lifted.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Of course, I am! Pushing the limits of my own body, extending my hands and feet!”

While responding, Shara aimed a kick at Shuou’s throat.

The sole of her shoe was right in front of him. Immediately after, the wind was pushed out with a thud.

Without lowering her leg, Shara let out a surprised voice.

“Aren’t you scared? If that had connected, it would have ended your life in one blow.”

In the first place, Shuou had been fully aware of Shara’s every move. There was no reason to be afraid of something he knew wouldn’t reach him from the start.

“Not bad. But when you launched the kick, the toes of your pivot foot were lifted. A shaky foundation is a sign of immaturity. If you focus on that, even that kick might turn into a blow that makes people want to run away.”

There was no response. However, Shara silently withdrew her leg and delivered a kick with the same movement as before. But this time, she faithfully followed the advice just given.

Following the impact sound as if lightning had struck, a storm-like gust of wind arose. Shuou couldn’t help but put both hands forward and stagger back half a step.

The leg in front of him gradually lowered, and instead, Shara’s flushed face with moist eyes came into view.

“D-Did you see that?! Just now!”

Shara, looking extremely excited, placed her hands together in front of her mouth and flapped her feet.

To be honest, he had never thought that by pointing out a slight flaw that had caught his attention on a whim, she would immediately demonstrate such an improvement in technique. The talent this girl possessed was purely astounding.

“Yeah, I’m surprised.”

That single word, spoken in a dazed manner, should have been enough to convey his feelings.

“Every day, I’ve been striving to become a better version of myself than yesterday, but at this very moment, I feel like I’ve taken a shortcut spanning several years. Thank you, your words have guided me forward.”

When she said this with her eyes shining like a sky full of stars, Shuou looked away and scratched his nose to hide his embarrassment.

Seeing Shara’s genuine expression as a young girl for the first time, Shuou felt strangely relieved.

The way her large breasts swayed and bounced with each little jump was probably the work of innate sexual attraction, tempting his eyes.

As Shuou averted his gaze, strongly urging his self-control, Shara suddenly made an outrageous proposal out of the blue.

“I feel like I want to show my gratitude. If there’s anything you desire, try telling me. Right now, I think I can fulfill most requests within the bounds of common sense.”

Those words had an all too sweet ring to them.

There were countless things he wanted and wished to do. The first thing that came to mind was wanting to untie the constricting restraints, but she probably wouldn’t allow that.

There were countless desires for his own well-being, but now that he had obtained the necessary clothing, food, and shelter, anything more would be a luxury. Upon reaching that conclusion, a concern lingered in his heart once again.

“There is one thing.”

“Tell me.”

“I want to confirm the safety of my comrades.”

Shara readily agreed to that request.

＊

A yawn echoed in the underground dungeon.

Despite their circumstances, a languid atmosphere flowed through the prison cell where the defeated soldiers of Murakumo were held captive.

–It can’t be helped.

Borge thought.

The only thing they could do here was to let the barely sufficient amount of food and water provided for survival flow into their stomachs. At first, everyone had been complaining and distracting themselves with personal stories, but as they grew tired of it, fewer people opened their mouths now.

“What’s going to happen to us…?”

Someone suddenly asked, unable to bear the boredom.

“We’re definitely going to be killed.”

When someone else spoke in a despairing tone, an immediate rebuttal flew in.

“If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it long ago. The fact that we’re getting food means they think we still have some use.”

“What kind of use?”

“Who knows? It would be better if we were put to work somewhere. I’ve heard stories of some countries using prisoners for pioneering in the Abyss. If we’re used for land reclamation work in some remote countryside, that would still be a gain.”

“Damn it… I grabbed a sword because I hated steady labor!”

“Shut up, you brat. Just think yourself lucky to be alive and keep quiet.”

“Tch, you have it easy, Old Man Jin.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You’re from the same hometown as those Coral folks, aren’t you? Those with the same skin color have it good. You can act all composed because you’re convinced you won’t be killed anyway!”

“What did you say?!”

Angry shouts and clamor. Cheers rose up, encouraging the fight, and the prison cell quickly became noisy.

Right now, even the energy to mediate was precious. Borge closed his eyes with his arms crossed, assuming that the guards would come to stop it soon, but the voice to stop them didn’t come for a while.

–What’s going on?

When he raised his head at a sudden sense of unease, he heard a commotion coming from the entrance of the dungeon, mixed in with the noise.

“–But this is troubling.”

“It’s just for a short while. It’ll be over by the time I stretch my body outside.”

“…Then, just for a little bit… Please, if anything happens, it’s my head on the line.”

The sound of a key unlocking and footsteps approaching.

Borge sensed an unusual situation and shouted at the idlers engrossed in the fight.

“Hey, shut up! Something’s off.”

Noticing the solemn atmosphere, everyone fell silent in an instant.

The candlelight swayed in the wind flowing from the entrance, shaking the human-shaped shadow on the ground.

When the person who smoothly appeared came into view, Borge involuntarily cried out.

“Shuou!”

He stood up, grabbed the iron bars, and brought his face closer. The others around him also rushed to the bars upon seeing that figure.

“Are you okay?”

Shuou, who asked Borge, looked more haggard than the last time they saw him.

“Nothing has changed here. More importantly, are you alright?”

Shuou gave a slight smile to reassure him.

“Yeah, I was just locked up for a few days.”

He said it lightly, but he had a worn-out aura about him.

Shuou quickly scanned the prison cell, and when he noticed Hario sitting with his back turned against the wall, he momentarily tried to call out to him, opening his mouth with a meaningful expression, but in the end, he closed his mouth.

Shuou returned his gaze to Borge.

“Let me explain the current situation–“

As they listened to the matter-of-fact explanation, a murmur spread among the people in the prison cell.

“Ba Ryouki, he’s a renowned hero, isn’t he? I didn’t know he was still active.”

When Borge said that, Shuou nodded slightly.

“Seems so.”

“Is there anything to be gained from fighting that old man?”

Shuou shook his head in denial.

“Probably not. When I lose, it will surely be when I die, and even if I win, the result will probably be the same.”

“…You have no choice but to accept, even knowing that?”

“That’s right. But my treatment has improved a bit until that day. Thanks to that, I was able to come and see everyone’s faces like this.”

A young woman’s voice urged Shuou from the entrance of the prison cell.

“I’m going… Wait for me. I’ll definitely get you all out of here.”

No one laughed at Shuou’s words, spoken with a strong tone.

Borge, who exchanged glances with Shuou for the last time, simply clenched his teeth and nodded firmly.

As the prison cell returned to its usual state, they talked about what Shuou had said, but naturally, no one took it seriously.

However, Borge knew that Shuou was not a man who ended up being all talk.

Ignoring the clamoring voices of the prisoners, Borge leaned against the wall and gently closed his eyes. Just as those words had told them to wait.

*

“Are you satisfied?”

Ignoring Shara’s question, Shuou asked in return.

“What’s going to happen to them?”

Shara made an uncomfortable face.

“Who knows? I heard that Coral is struggling with how to handle them since it was a rare victory for them. I don’t know about their future, but in any case, they will be placed where the defeated deserve to be. That’s the way of the world.”

“I see…”

Without losing heart, Shuou clenched his back teeth tightly.

His imprisoned comrades. Their tragic expressions. When he saw them listening to his words with haggard faces, a strong emotion had sprouted within Shuou.

–I’ll save them. No matter what.

He thought with a single mind.

Even the hardy warriors were cowering in fear, starving and unsure if they would be alive tomorrow. And all those placed in that situation were comrades who had shared meals and slept together.

His mind was made up.

To win and to rescue them.

Brushing aside the noise that leaked out like stains from reason and common sense telling him it was impossible, he told himself to do whatever he could.

“I have one more request.”

Shuou asked Shara, who was about to return to the room, to take a detour. First, he needed to properly grasp the structure of the building where he was imprisoned.

Shara, in a good mood, agreed to that trivial request, and Shuou secretly clenched his fist so that she couldn’t see.