by Fuse
Benimaru didn’t know a great deal about it, either, apart from my vague description of boring a hole into the mountain. In fact, the idea had already been shot down by my team. A tunnel would be the shortest route between Tempest and the Thalion capital, but the highway would only lead to the nearest large town on the Thalion border, so no tunnel was strictly needed. Benimaru knew that, but he wanted to bring up the concept in his negotiations regardless.
“A tunnel involves digging a hole in the mountain to allow passage through to the other side. If you do not wish to permit this, we will not—”
“Wait. Dig a hole in the mountain? Are you quite serious?”
“I am. That’s what the project plan called for. But no tunnel is necessary for the route we have now, so I only wanted to ask in case it does become necessary in the future. If you don’t like it, I will not force the question.”
To a race who treats the mountains as divinity, digging a hole through one was seen as anathema.
“That is very ill-advised. You are free to let a slime become a demon lord, but as long as you do not interfere with us, I see no harm. I am even willing to shut my eyes to that slavering half-snake you’ve brought along with you. But if you wish to make a mockery of our glorious mountains—that I cannot abide.”
As if to prove the point, Momiji stood up.
Benimaru had no intention of making an issue out of this, but now it seemed like the discussion was over. Had he failed? He stayed in his seat, reasoning that any reaction would force the other side to up the ante—but not everyone was willing to remain silent.
“A slavering half-snake? Are you talking about me?”
A fuming Alvis leaped out of her chair instead, staring Momiji down. The two seemed ready to come to blows at any moment.
“Whoa, stop—”
Just as Benimaru spoke, Alvis’s eyes met Momiji’s. Her extra skill Snake Eyes could cause paralysis, poison, insanity, and many other ailments. But none of that fazed Momiji.
“Such a silly move,” she said as she took out a folding fan with both hands. “Mere status ailments won’t work on the daughter of the tengu elder.”
Tengu are half-spiritual life-forms and as such bear a high resistance to status ailments. In addition, Momiji had the extra skill Godwolf Sense on at all times, giving her information beyond what her five senses provided—a sort of powered-up version of Magic Sense that picked up on illusions and illusory magic. Thus, sneak attacks like that didn’t work on her.
Then it was Momiji’s turn. She brought her fan down on Alvis in a sort of dance. Alvis blocked the first blow with her golden staff, but the second one hit her on the side and sent her flying to the far end of the open-air courtyard.
“Kffhh…?!”
Momiji’s moves were simple but refined. The blow had shut the fan; now she reopened it, elegantly hiding her lips with it.
“Are you done? I see the Lycanthropeers are all bark and no bite.”
“You better not rile me, country girl. I went easy on you because we were here to negotiate, but perhaps I didn’t need to?” replied Alvis, her pride hurt.
She stood back up, her wound already healed, and glared coldly at Momiji. Her presence was formidable indeed, as befitting one of the most powerful magic-born in Eurazania.
“Went easy? I was going easy on you. It’s taken quite an effort to avoid killing an envoy like yourself, I’ll have you know. Or do you want to make me truly angry?”
It felt like their face-off was literally freezing the air around them. The younger tengu warriors at the side of the courtyard tensed up as the concentrated auras filled the area. And in the midst of it, Benimaru sat drinking his tea, musing about how this had gone beyond the realm of a gaffe and into truly painful territory.
“Yes, you may be strong, but if you think a little girl as inexperienced as you in battle has a chance, think again.”
“Would you care to try? I was hoping to build some battle experience, as you so kindly pointed out. I think you would make a fine test case!”
The stare down grew ever more heated—and then they both moved at once. The next moment, a flash of light streaked through the air, and the fan flew out of Momiji’s hand. Silence fell over the courtyard. Faster than anyone could have reacted, Benimaru stepped into the fight.
“Enough,” he blankly stated. “I apologize for her offense, but I really can’t have my companion killed.”
“S-Sir Benimaru?! You thought I would lose?!”
“Yes. If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve been cut in two.”
“Nonsense!” Momiji said. “I put none of my force into—”
“No. You’re careless with holding your aura back. You put too much power into it.”
“I—I didn’t…”
“I… I lost…?”
Both Momiji and Alvis fell to their knees. As they did, the doors on one end of the courtyard opened, revealing a large, beautiful, canine-eared woman. The young tengu in the audience kneeled before her.
“M-Mother?!”
The tengu elder smiled at the panicking Momiji, ambling over to her daughter. When she reached her:
“You fool of a daughter!”
The roar echoed like a thunderclap.
In another few moments, the group had relocated themselves to an inner chamber, one in the classic Japanese style with tatami mats and flat floor cushions for kneeling on. A door ahead led to an alcove, allowing the ill tengu elder to take a rest whenever she needed. The elder had seen fit to give Momiji a rap on the head for her insolence; she rubbed it tearfully, dissatisfied with this treatment but unwilling to risk any more disobedience around her mother.
“No, no, there’s no need to go that far. We simply wanted to introduce ourselves…”
Benimaru had yet to accomplish what he set out to do, but this was no longer an atmosphere for casual talk. Plus, with Alvis as dejected as she was, he sensed that overstaying his welcome would be supremely unwise. But the elder had other ideas.
“Hee-hee-hee! Don’t worry about it, boy. That was quite some swordplay you showed off, by the way. That’s the Haze style, ain’t it?”
“How did…? Ah, no, I do have some idea. Momiji’s dancing did resemble my own sword style in parts. Could it be, perhaps…?”
“Yes, I’ve studied Haze as well. From my master, Byakuya Araki.”
“Wha?!”
Benimaru was shocked. The tengu gave him a satisfied smile.
“My name, you see, is Kaede.”
With that, she began telling a story of her past. Over three hundred years ago, she’d been spending her time in the land of the ogres. She had been on a journey, hiding her true powers, but then she encountered Byakuya and became an apprentice on the ways of the sword. But Kaede wasn’t alone. She trained alongside someone else—a born talent, living by the sword, and Byakuya’s own grandchild.
“It pains me so much that I am unable to give you a name,” Byakuya had often said.
Naming monsters willy-nilly, it seemed, could come at the risk of one’s life. As a human, naming this grandchild of his would’ve surely killed him. Kaede didn’t have a name at the time, either, so she didn’t understand what his hang-up was about it, but now she had an inkling. If you love someone, after all, you want to leave something behind for them. It was natural for monsters not to have names, but for humans, it was the opposite.
Time passed, and Byakuya grew old and passed away, leaving behind his ogre grandchild who had become a virtuoso with the sword—enough to challenge even Kaede. In terms of technique, she lost out completely. She was smitten, and underneath a large maple tree, she confessed her love. Then, after a single night spent together in bliss, she left the ogre homeland.
The Forest of Jura had been known for its unstable weather, but this tree was a large, broad maple, one that shone with bright-orange leaves in the fall. It had become a symbol of the ogres’ homeland, and Benimaru knew it well—proving to him that her story was true…
&n
bsp; “Wait a minute. Are you saying that Hakuro’s—?”
…and shocking him in the process.
“Hakuro, you said? Ah, so the Sword Ogre I trained with has gained a name? My… I’m surprised to hear he’s even alive.”
She smiled at the thought, shaking Benimaru down to his very core.
Whoa—whoa… Is Hakuro aware of this?!
His mind was swimming with all kinds of questions. But the greatest shock of all was yet to come:
“Well… That is a relief to hear.”
“…?”
“Because the fine young man Sir Hakuro raised is going to be the future groom of my daughter.”
Bppht!!
Benimaru spit out the tea he was drinking to calm his nerves. He was normally cool and composed, but here in the land of the tengu, everything was shaking him to the core. And he wasn’t the only one—Alvis, next to him, was staring blankly into space as the teacup slipped from her hand.
Momiji blushed intensely at the news and looked at Benimaru, then Kaede. “M-Mother…?!”
Flustered, she attempted to shut her mother up, but it was no use. Kaede casually raised an arm to hold her daughter back as she addressed Benimaru.
“Now, Sir Benimaru, regarding your request earlier, I will be happy to accept it. In fact, I am prepared to acknowledge the rule of Sir Rimuru over our lands. However, that comes on the condition that you accept my daughter as your spouse. I doubt you will need much time to think it over, but what do you say?”
Benimaru froze. Such a dramatic question, posed so casually. He did need some time, as it happened. Fortunately, Momiji—the other related party in this question—stepped in to rescue him.
“Wait! Wait! I know you’ve accepted him, Mother, but I haven’t yet! Yes, perhaps he’s stronger than I am…but if so, then I don’t want you to force him into this. I want to win his love first. Don’t you always say, Mother, that a truly good woman is one who makes her sweetheart turn back toward her?”
She hid her reddened face behind her fan and all but ran out of the room, fleeing the scene. Kaede laughed heartily at her behavior.
As Alvis regained her senses, Benimaru could feel embarrassment creeping over him at Momiji’s reaction.
Y’know, Hakuro could stay calm through anything… As sudden as this proposal is, if that’s all it takes to throw me, I still have much to learn…
He took the moment to reflect.
…But still, this is way too sudden…
In the end, it was agreed that he would bring the question of Momiji back home to think over. This was all entirely Kaede’s idea, and she had no interest in forcing anyone into it. It was something she thought it’d be nice to see, and if it actually happened, why, all the better. As for the rest of Tempest’s demands, she largely agreed—the tunnel through the mountain was still an issue, but she gave them permission to construct the highway to Thalion any way they pleased.
But their talks didn’t end there. Apart from potentially marrying Momiji off to Benimaru, Kaede also expressed an interest in building a constructive relationship between the demon lord Rimuru and the tengu race.
It may not have been obvious, but Kaede suffered from an illness. At least, that was the backstory; the truth was a bit different. She did indeed lose the majority of her remaining power bringing Momiji into the world. The birth and the subsequent “naming” of the child took place fifteen years ago, and it consumed nearly all the force of a woman once lauded as the goddess of the mountains. Death would be coming for her sooner rather than later, and that was why she wanted to find someone to back up and support her dear, inexperienced daughter. Benimaru’s visit was a coincidence, but to Kaede, he brought hope—a final hope, gifted to her by her former lover Hakuro.
If he turns me down, so be it, thought Kaede. You’re still there, aren’t you, with Sir Rimuru? I thought you would die before I did, but I see I was very happily mistaken. And won’t seeing Momiji remind you of our own past a little?
After some contemplation, Kaede agreed to postpone any concrete marriage plans. And with that, Momiji herself made her way to meet with the demon lord Rimuru in person.
It was a pretty headache-inducing tale—and one representing the greatest danger Benimaru had experienced in his life. He described it as scarier than the first time he met me, which I wasn’t sure how to take. Maybe that was just his sense of humor.
Regardless, this was why Momiji had been sent here. If she landed such a clean hit on Alvis, you wouldn’t want to underestimate her in battle. Honestly, I was glad she wasn’t hostile to us anymore.
…But really, I couldn’t dodge the real question any longer.
Hakuro had a daughter all this time? No way.
I was in a panic over it, worried that it’d balloon into a huge issue, but there wasn’t much to be done about it until I met her. Besides, this wasn’t something Benimaru and I could solve alone. We needed to hear from Hakuro, who had just as large a stake in this—but I didn’t want to hurry him over here needlessly, either. So I decided to shelve the issue until he came back.
And come back he did, the previous night, after his journey to Farmus. The three of us held a little chat. I had no idea what the tengu would demand from us or what would happen with them at all, so we decided to save their audience for the final day. I was planning to call for Hakuro if he still wasn’t around by then, but fortunately I didn’t need to. Not that his timeliness solved a lot of problems, either.
Benimaru and Momiji marrying was strictly an issue between the two of them. I didn’t mind if they said yes; it didn’t really seem to affect me at all, but…
“Wait just a minute!” Benimaru began. “I—I have my own issues to think about, you realize!”
“What do you mean?” Hakuro countered. “Do you not like my daughter?”
“I am not saying that! Besides, why are you acting like a father now? You’ve never met her in your life. You didn’t even know she existed!”
“Well, now that I do, I have a certain responsibility for her, do I not?”
Hakuro seemed to be relishing Benimaru’s consternation. It only made the problem worse. We kept talking all night, but it never really came to a conclusion—so here, in the audience chamber, I was going to be forced to wing it.
.........
......
…
The beautiful girl sat down on a hastily prepared chair in front of me. The colorful white-to-red gradient of her hair was indeed beautiful. This was the Momiji I had heard so much about, representing the tengu elder here. She gave me a haughty look and began to speak.
“Demon lord Rimuru, it is good to meet you. My name is Momiji, and I have come here on behalf of the elder of the tengu race. I look forward to working with you.”
“You’re very kind. My name’s Rimuru, and I’ve become a demon lord. I’m in human form now, as you can see, but I’m actually a slime. In general, I’m pretty much a pacifist, so if you have any problems, don’t be afraid to hit me up.”
“There is no need for such concern. The way you have conquered the Forest of Jura was breathtaking to witness. We recognize you as the ruler of the forest and look forward to being a good neighbor to you. However, we will not allow you to interfere in our affairs.”
She was saying that in front of all my officials. I could see Shion’s eyebrow twitch a little, but luckily no one reacted further. I hadn’t explained the full story to her yet, so she actually stopped herself that time. That was a new change in her, as of late; she no longer responded to small things in her usual exaggerated fashion. That was a good trend to see, if a little creepy. Hopefully she wasn’t just bottling it all in, only to have it explode later.
Momiji, meanwhile, was waiting with bated breath to see how I’d reply. She put up a bold, dignified act, so you wouldn’t notice unless it was pointed out to you, but I’m sure her nerves were killing her. She must not have been sure whether I was friend or foe yet.
Declaring her allegiance
would’ve been fine, I thought, but the pride her race had in themselves must have forbidden that. A young, inexperienced ruler faces doom if people look down on them, after all. I can understand that—even though it seemed like Momiji had the support of the younger tengu warrior classes.
“All right. I understand. Certainly, we don’t have any interest in unduly interfering with you, either. As I think Benimaru here explained to you, we just want to build a highway around the base of the Khusha Mountains. Also, just to be sure, you recognize the rights of the high orcs who have already moved into the mountains, right?”
“Yes, that is not a problem. I make no exclusive claims to the right to enjoy the mountains’ blessings. You may mine the ore as much as you want—we have no need for it. We only wish to be left alone.”
Um…
The mountainous areas were considered part of the Forest of Jura’s territory. I had braced myself for some sort of complaining about that, but I guess it’s not a problem. So what were the tengu so on edge about? She acted pretty prickly toward Alvis; was there a fight between them and Carillon during his demon lord days? I decided it was safest to just ask directly.
“Um, so I don’t know what you’re so on guard about, but we really have no intention of starting a conflict with you, so…?”
“You want me to believe that?”
“Yeah. I mean, have I said or done anything to make you suspect I’ve got my eyes on expanding my territory?”
Momiji eyed me carefully, judging my intentions once again.
“You associate with that crafty bird woman Frey. That’s all the evidence I need to recognize your ambitions!” she retorted.
I can safely say I did not see that one coming.
“Whoa, time-out!”
“What does time-out mean?!”
“It means stop! We need to discuss some things!”
I called my administration over. Momiji agreed to this—with some complaints, I think, but I wasn’t really paying attention.