Hikigaya Hachiman was terrified. Staring at the scene before him, he felt like he was still trapped in a nightmare. The sky and earth were a gray, torrential blur. Brutal guards wielded their whips without mercy. And the people—filthy, untouchable hinin—carried huge sandbags like cattle, rushing toward the raging floodwaters that looked like a great devouring beast.
Every minute, every second, someone was swallowed by the torrent. Life here was cheaper than dirt. Hachiman, who had thought he could get used to anything in this strange world as long as he had his sister, was finally on the verge of collapse. Was human life really not important at all?
"Hurry up!" his superior, Nagamoto, snarled. If Lord Raiko hadn't given the order, he would have kicked this sniveling commoner aside long ago. But the boy had a good sister, a powerful miko, and that made him useful.
"…Yes." Hachiman agreed respectfully and trudged toward the crowds, cracking his whip toward the sky to guide the sandbag carriers in the right direction. Under the heavy rain, countless ragged people moved with numb obedience, filling sacks with sand, carrying them to the riverbank, and linking hands to form a human wall, all to stop the turbulent water from flooding the nobles' manors.
"I've had enough of this!" an unyielding voice roared over the storm.
Hachiman's head snapped around. A vaguely familiar face came into his sight.
"I don't want to—"
Boom! Thunder cracked, and lightning briefly illuminated the grisly scene. The familiar face was now airborne, tumbling in a lazy arc before landing in the mud like a piece of discarded trash.
"Who dares to resist?!" the samurai, Nakatsuna, bellowed, his voice like thunder. The tachi in his hand gleamed with a cold, dazzling light.
"Go!" Hachiman roared, swinging his whip in the air. The flood didn't stop for one man's severed head. He had to keep them moving.
"I don't understand why these bitches are more stubborn than cattle these days," Nakatsuna said, shaking his head.
"Perhaps they don't understand your power, my lord," a nearby soldier complimented.
Nakatsuna's expression relaxed. He turned his cold gaze back to the temporary earth wall. There were several wealthy estates on the other side. There could be no mistakes.
By evening, the rain finally subsided. Hachiman ate a few corn rice balls and was ordered to stand guard over the surviving laborers, who were confined within a wooden enclosure. He stood there like a piece of wood, drenched to the bone, listening to the muffled sobs and whispers of the imprisoned people.
Day 25
Like the day before, I was staring out at the rain-swept courtyard, lost in thought. However, the occasional gazes being cast in my direction were starting to make me curious. Is it because I'm too handsome? No, I usually restrain my natural charm. And there were nobles in this era who were into other men; one had to be careful. So, what was it?
I did a quick, silent tally. Miku: 25 glances. Satsuki: 19 glances. Yukinoshita: 4 glances. The sisters were clearly the most anxious. The situation was obvious: they wanted something.
"Are you worried about your relative?" I asked suddenly, without turning around.
Miku pondered for a few seconds. "…Yes. I feel that nowhere is safe except here."
Satsuki was stunned for a moment, then quickly added her praise. "Yes, yes! Here we can eat well and sleep well!"
I'm not raising pigs here, I thought wryly.
"Your compliments are very… interesting," I said slowly, resting my chin on my hand. "But that's all they are. Tell me what you do for fun. Give me a reason to be entertained." I let a small, cruel smile touch my lips. "If I find it interesting, then I have a reason to go out and look for your relative."
"Ah!" Satsuki exclaimed, a mix of caution and surprise in her voice. "Really?"
Miku fell silent. Yukinoshita, who had stopped reading, blinked. A reason? Helping others requires a reason. The logic was cold but sound. Yet, she felt a strong sense of wrongness about it.
"Well… that…" Miku finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper. "This should be fun… combined with… this pastime." She gestured vaguely at herself.
I was quiet for three or four seconds, and then I laughed. A genuine, barking laugh. "Okay," I said, getting to my feet. "You've successfully made me laugh."
I threw down two talismans, which glowed with a faint light. "Don't wait up." Without another word, I stepped out into the rain, the talismans repelling the water around me as I vanished in the blink of an eye.
The room fell into silence, the only sound the drumming of rain.
"…I said the wrong thing," Miku bit her lip, her face filled with shame, her eyes turning red.
Satsuki rushed over to comfort her. Yukinoshita considered for a moment before speaking. "…With his magnanimity, he won't hold it against you. But if you feel you've done wrong, then you should apologize." She herself had no idea if Miku's offer of self-sacrifice would anger Kyosuke. She still couldn't understand him at all.
Meanwhile, hovering in the air above the city, I rubbed my brows, feeling depressed. Using gratitude as a reason for a physical relationship? It wasn't fun at all. Besides, I was just going to help her anyway, to repay the debt from that "peony vision."
I glanced down at the flooded capital. Streams flowed through the streets, carrying all kinds of garbage. Motionless bodies lay half-submerged in the water. The air was thick with the foul stench of decay, ghostly energy, and the heavy presence of death.
"This Heian-kyō," I sighed, "isn't peaceful at all."
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