by Nikita Thorn
Perhaps it was also why they could afford to dole out gifts like that. There were still many more questions, like what Kage got out of all this, and who was behind the assassination, but at least this was starting to make sense.
“So, now that I’ve answered your questions, you have to listen to the job offer. And what we’re going to ask you to do now isn’t anything you’ve never done before, Seiki-san,” said Fuyu, producing a small object from her long sleeve. Ornate Wooden Box. Crafted item. Made by Isaki.
It took a second for Seiki to realize that it was the very same box he had delivered to Mimura.
“Boxes are expensive, so we reuse them,” said Fuyu. “But this is different, and I’m going to show you what’s in it this time.”
She lifted the lid of the box to reveal a piece of paper folded neatly several times into a small square. “It’s just a piece of paper. We need it delivered to Kano Castle, which is an hour’s ride away to the East.”
Seiki had never been that far east but, before he could answer, Fuyu said, “Now, you might ask why we are asking you to go into the deep wilds when you are still so… inexperienced. The answer is: you have not pledged your loyalty to any clan, Seiki-san. So, first, you have no incentive to betray us in favor of anyone else. Second, no one will be looking for you. Third, I know that you have no missions left to do at the moment, and fourth, based on your past records, you most likely have another two or three hours right now to spare.”
She had been so thorough Seiki did not know how to respond.
“I don’t think I can go that far yet.” Seiki finally found a point to refute her, which was a valid point, since the monsters would be much too high-level for him to fight.
“The main road is well-patrolled so, as long as you don’t wander off into the thickets, you won’t be in any danger,” said Fuyu. “And the Rangers have check points all along the road.”
“Rangers?”
“Oh.” Fuyu seemed surprised he had not heard of them. “They’re like Patrols, but for the Wilderness.”
“Oh,” said Seiki. He had never seen one when he was out in the woods, but then again he had never gone that far away from Shinshioka.
“And, fifth,” continued Fuyu. “I’ll promise to answer three more questions after you come back.” She held up three fingers again and gave him one of those little smiles he could not quite comprehend.
“So, here.” She handed the box to him with a pleasant smile. “Shut and lock, please.”
“I haven’t agreed,” Seiki pointed out.
The ninja girl simply looked at him.
“I mean, I can still say no, right?”
Fuyu giggled. “Let’s be honest, here, Seiki-san,” she said matter-of-factly. “We both know you’re not going to do that, because now you’re curious.”
Despite the semblance of a choice, this had never been one. All the theatrics with Ippei and Kentaro had been part of it. And now that she had built it up and handed it to him so perfectly gift-wrapped like this, to walk back to the kakigouri shop right now would just be so anti-climatic that it would feel like failure.
Fuyu had initiated a trade and Seiki gave in and held out his hand.
You have received: Ornate Wooden Box.
“Déjà vu?” said Fuyu. “Shut it and lock it, please.”
Seiki sighed. He did not know why people seemed to be able to get him to do exactly what they wanted, and he was not sure if he was supposed to be upset about that or not. He snapped the box shut, and it automatically locked.
Ornate Wooden Box is now locked. Lock level: 22.
Since the box was now in his possession, he was considered the owner of the lock. And once he closed it, only him, or those with Level 22 Lock-picking, would be able to open it afterward.
Fuyu leaned over the table and grabbed hold of his hand—or rather the box, which had his hand around it—, before placing a small strip of paper over the keyhole. After holding it in place for a few seconds, she peeled off the top layer with her fingernails, separating it from the bottom transparent layer, which then slowly dissolved into the lock, making the whole metal bit glow silver.
Fuyu suddenly had a needle in her hand. “Isn’t it funny that your own daggers won’t cut you but a Tailoring needle would?”
Seiki had never seen blood-locking in practice before, but he knew what to do. Using the icy tip of the silver needle, he dripped a drop of his blood over the lock. The metal keyhole glowed once more.
Ornate Wooden Box is now blood-locked. Lock level: 22. Blood-lock level: 7 (Seiki – 160 hours remaining).
Now even if he died and it got looted, he would presumably be able to recall it from the Bureau, although without Favor, he wondered how long that was going to take. Despite Fuyu’s claim, it seemed that she had considered the possibility of him dying on the road.
Seiki snickered. “I thought you said the road was safe.”
Fuyu said nothing, and Seiki saw her glance at the clock before scribbling something down on a piece of paper.
It struck Seiki now. “Oh,” he said. “This is just to keep me honest.”
There was no way he could open it now without the recipient knowing. The blood lock effect lasted for 24 hours per level, and the countdown on the expiry was already ticking. So, even if he tried to replace it with another Level 7 blood lock, the countdown time would no longer match.
“What? Oh, no, of course not!” said Fuyu, pouting childishly. “How could you think that of me? This is just in case you run into bad people on the road who may wish you harm, Seiki-san. You can get the box back at any village office along the way. Just write to me and I can speed things up for you. Fuyu-chan is the Shogun’s favorite, you know.” She smiled. “And just to prove how much I care about your safety, I’ll lend this to you as well.”
She produced a tiny cloth bag, which Seiki recognized instantly as a kind of charm. “You have a free charm slot, don’t you? This is to prevent said bad people from finding you.”
You have received: Wanderer’s Charm. Hides player from Locate when equipped.
Seiki was not surprised she knew about the Rogami Clan too.
“And, do take the scroll.” She thrust the item into his hand. “I know Mimura-sama said you didn’t take advance payment, but this is a gift, Seiki-san, and it would be really rude not to accept a gift. Mimura-sama would yell at me if I didn’t give it to you, so you don’t want that to happen to Fuyu-chan, do you?”
She was giggling again, and Seiki sighed. This was just to lock him into this in every possible way.
But as he accepted the trade and held the scroll in his hand, it took a bit of effort to convince himself that he was unwilling.
Chapter 08
The red street lamps in front of Ichikeya were constantly swaying as endless groups of people on horseback, coming and going through the West Gate, thundered past them. It was still early in the night, and this was prime time for missions.
The instruction was simple enough: a straight one-hour ride down the East Main Road before taking the right fork at Mannaka Village, and that would take him to the Kano Castle, which from Fuyu’s vague description Seiki could only guess was a clan-held territory. The people there would be expecting him. Fuyu told him he could break the journey into several legs if he needed to, as long as he got there before the blood lock expired.
“Since you seem to be on a rather tight curfew lately,” Fuyu had said with her usual giggle. And that was when Seiki decided she really knew too much, and that he had better get this over with as soon as possible, earn his scroll and three more questions, and finally be done with it.
Seiki whistled for his horse and started heading back toward Market Street. The smartest thing to do right now was to get to his box at Central Crossing and deposit the scroll, grab some potions for the trip, and drop by to tell Ippei what he was doing. Perhaps his friend would want to come with him, and riding out into the night beat selling charms any
day. Ippei would probably have more speculations about the contents of the box and who these Kano Castle people were.
As he was about to turn right into Central Crossing, a pigeon fluttered down beside him. Seiki sighed as he grabbed it, wondering when this Nanamura person would give up.
Yamura of the Honor Warriors [Level 11]: (6 seconds ago) XP grind now. West Gate. Got healer so we can speed.
Seiki chuckled. He had decided he was not particularly fond of killing things for hours, just for the sake of experience. It took away from the realism and, in the end, he always felt like the whole thing was pointless, which was a feeling he particularly hated. His life at the moment was pointless enough, and this world was the only thing that had a bit of some unknown promise, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Pulling the snowstepper to a gentle walk, he reached into his pouch for his stack of post paper to tell the ryoushi that he was busy. Writing on a moving mount was a little challenging, especially with a piece of brittle charcoal, and Kentaro would certainly not approve of how these characters turned out.
He let go of the pigeon and watched it fly off, wondering if what Ippei said was true, when—as if to test the theory—an arrow whisked by. The projectile missed the bird by three inches and caused it to flutter off in another direction in alarm. It took Seiki a second to understand no one was shooting at the bird. Another arrow whisked past, and sounds of fights burst out from his right, where a brawl was starting. Several people with drawn swords were locked in chaotic combat, while someone yelled, “Patrols!” and the armed guards immediately fell on them.
Brawls were an integral part of Shinshioka life. Seiki shook his head in amusement and asked himself who could have been stupid enough to start a brawl right in front of the pawn shop near the guards. It was always a bad idea to ride through a brawl, so he would need to go around it and turn right at the next block to get to his private territory.
He knew these West City streets and alleys by heart now, and the one he needed to take had three of what his friends called ‘filler shops’, which sold items that nobody actually used. In this alley were a tea shop, a sandal shop, and an overpriced vegetable shop manned by a burly man who went by the name of Hoga—famous for yelling at his customers.
The alley was quiet as he turned into it. From ahead, he could still hear faint sounds of the brawl, and he wondered if he should wait for it to die down before proceeding.
At that moment, Fubuki tensed, and Seiki knew what was about to happen. Something had hit her, and he leapt off right before she could throw him. The horse neighed and galloped off, and Seiki found himself in front of Hoga’s vegetable shop. On the ground were several metal shurikens, and a stray one must have hit his horse.
“You’d better pay for all this!” Hoga was yelling. “I’ll call the Patrols!”
At the front of the shop were several wooden crates full of different kinds of produce. Further inside the shop, Teruo [Level 13], a tall man in tight-fitting dark blue ninja attire, was kicking over a vegetable bucket, spilling green gourds all over the place. At first, Seiki wondered why the man was quarreling with an NPC but, as he took a step closer, he saw that the ninja was aiming it at something else on the floor.
A girl was lying on her side, her arms raised over her head in protection. Akari [Level 9], HP 117/284, was crying out. “I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know!”
“That’s no excuse,” yelled Teruo, taking aim with his foot.
“Hey!” shouted Seiki.
There was a huge difference between combat and abuse, and the scene in front of him confirmed that it was not only him who had problems with higher-level people.
The ninja looked up and frowned. “Who are you? Her friend?”
Seiki slowly stepped into the shop. Hoga was glaring at the whole scene. “You’d better pay for all this or I’ll call the Patrols,” the man shouted.
“Do that,” said Seiki, absently. He threw a quick glance at the girl on the floor, and noticed that white sparks were swirling around her as she healed herself. She was a houshi, and that was why she had survived so long with the level discrepancy.
“There’s no need for this,” Seiki said.
“None of your business,” said Teruo.
“Run,” said Seiki to the girl.
Akari slowly picked herself up, seemingly shaken. Another bout of heal went up around her as she filled her health.
“Be smart now and stay out of this,” said Teruo, reaching for his dagger.
Seiki drew his sword. The man was only three levels above, and none of his moves had the ability to one-shot him. The girl, however, was in danger. “Run,” said Seiki again.
Akari simply stood there, dazed. “There are more of them outside,” she said, in almost a whisper.
Teruo’s right hand shot out, launching the dagger into the air with Spinning Blade, immediately followed by another hail of shurikens.
“Go!” Seiki told the girl again, as he stepped forward with his Upslash. The wind effect threw the metal stars off their marks and sent them thudding onto the floor, and he ducked as the dagger spun toward him. This was the first time he had used it against real projectiles. Aiming was rather difficult, and he had not timed it perfectly. One shuriken not caught by the move left a shallow cut on his leg, but the damage was insignificant.
Someone grabbed hold of his sleeve from behind. The houshi girl was still there, looking very pale. “There are more of them out there,” she said again, her eyes wide with fright. It seemed that if he was not leaving, she was not leaving.
The dagger had completed its circle in the air and was now back in the ninja’s hand. The man rushed forward, and Seiki gripped the girl to pull her out of the shop. Opposite them, the tea shop minder was looking at them with mild interest.
The alley seemed empty. If they could get to the Central Crossing room, they would be safe. And if the girl didn’t have the territory, he could probably invite her into his.
Behind, Hoga was yelling curses and something about how no one was leaving without paying for damaged goods, and Teruo was yelling something back at him.
“Not that way. There are more of them!” said Akari, as she tried to pull Seiki in the opposite direction. As if on cue, an arrow, shot by an unseen ryoushi, flew toward them. Still locked out of Upslash, Seiki had to Parry.
The arrow hit his blade in a loud clank, and Seiki grunted as his energy dropped to zero. The shot would have been fatal. He had no idea how many of them there were, but they would be of higher levels than Teruo.
“Get your horse!” said Akari, before blowing her mount whistle. Seiki did the same, just as Teruo, who had somehow managed to get rid of the troublesome shopkeeper, rushed out from the shop and dashed toward them. The ninja’s hand shot out, and Seiki raised his Hikari to block a Poison Dart just in time. The ninja being only a few levels above, the impact was not quite strong enough to force his sword off his grip, even without energy.
“Brawl!” someone yelled from down the alley.
This was the last thing Seiki wanted to get involved in right now. Luckily, his faithful Fubuki was already galloping his way. Teruo heard the hooves and seemed to realize what they were trying to do. The man turned and raised his hand in order to strike the horse, as she ran past, to scare her off and keep them on foot for another two minutes.
The only thing Seiki could do was to run in. His energy-less Sweeping Blade knocked the man backward. The ninja disappeared with a grunt. Recognizing the move, Seiki spun around, his Parry recharging just in time to block as the man reappeared behind him with his Shadow Strike.
The blade fended off the ninja’s dagger, and the man reached for his secondary dagger with his left hand. Seiki immediately drew his Hikari back and hit Teruo with a normal Focused Strike, sending him staggering backward. This had bought Akari enough time to mount, and Fubuki was already drawing close. Turning to grab the horse’s saddle as she was passing, Seiki slid his
foot into the stirrup. He pulled himself awkwardly onto the running horse, grimacing as he made a mental note to work on this later on.
“This way!” said Akari, as she started to gallop ahead. Seiki repositioned himself on the saddle the best he could and urged his horse after her. Behind him, a brawl was breaking out as enthusiastic people from Trade Street caught up with where Teruo had been, and he could hear the ninja cursing as someone presumably engaged him in combat.
Seiki’s mind raced for a plan. This was not good. He had returned a damaging move, and this meant the Patrols would soon be after him. These streets in the middle of West City were heavily guarded and it would be only a matter of time before they caught him and threw him in prison.
Galloping at full speed, Akari made a sharp turn down one small alley, leapt off her horse and ran toward a door. Seiki crossed his fingers she had a private territory somewhere near. “This way!” she said. “And invite me,” she added, as she fumbled for something in her pouch. “I need to get this door open.”
Slightly confused, Seiki initiated a group, as the girl busied herself on the door. The building was nondescript and looked the same as other two-storied shop houses in West City. He could only assume she was trying to Lock-pick.
“Yes!” she said, as the metal click rang out merrily, before finally accepting the invitation.
You are now in a group with Akari [Level 9].
The door slid open, and she rushed through. Seiki followed her, expecting to get some kind of a notification, but it turned out not to be a private territory. The room was narrow and seemed abandoned, with a high counter on the right, like some type of shop. The houshi girl gave the impression of knowing where she was going, and she ran through to the back room. From outside was the sound of hooves and a voice could be heard shouting, “Brawlers! Stand for arrest!”
He never knew Patrols said that, and he wondered if they would come in and search. He had heard somewhere that you could hide, and as long as they did not find you within ten minutes or so you would be safe.