Chapter 14: Tsuchikurenai-ke

Karizome Tenhyo wandered in the dead of night.

It was a miracle he was still alive, and that, coupled with the guilt of betraying his comrades, made him feel like he was walking on clouds instead of solid ground.

The place he headed for was the territory of the Tsuchikurenai clan.

The moment he set foot inside, a sensation shot through his limbs, as if they were being manipulated by strings.

The truth was, this was a domain ruled by a Dengou-rank sorcerer; anyone who entered would feel a physical restraint, as if their arms and legs were bound.

Still, he ran on without hesitation.

He’d been running for so long that the fatigue in his legs had piled up to the breaking point.

When he reached the estate, a gate guard saw his face.

It was a woman.

She was dressed like a shrine maiden—red hakama, a white top, and a headband tied around her head.

In her hands, she held a catchpole for self-defense, and she looked at him with a worried expression.

“Karizome-dono.”

Addressed by name, he looked around, panting for breath.

There were supposed to be two guards on watch, but one of them was nowhere to be seen.

“Stop… please stop…”

A voice drifted from the corner of the garden, from within the bushes.

A retainer of the Tsuchikurenai was assaulting one of the guards.

He looked at the other woman’s face.

There were marks on her neck from being strangled.

She, too, had already been attacked by the Tsuchikurenai retainer.

“…Where is Hyakurei?”

he asked, his anger surging.

“Inside the mansion.”

Hearing this, he clenched his fists tightly.

The voice coming from the bushes belonged to a woman younger than himself.

He slipped into the mansion, where light was leaking from a sliding paper screen.

Amidst the boisterous merrymaking, he saw the retainers of the Tsuchikurenai, attended by numerous women.

“How was that Takenawa Kiriyoshizen wife who came in recently?”

“She must’ve never been treated like a proper woman. Cried and screamed almost like a virgin.”

“The Onomi Rokuzan daughters are so submissive, aren’t they? Makes you want to torment them even more.”

“Those twin wives of Todoroki Sabiza finally fell. Seems they prefer me to him.”

The vulgar talk reached his ears.

Karizome Tenhyo ignored it and moved to enter the room.

“Excuse me, Hyakurei-dono.”

As he spoke before the sliding screen, a muffled voice came from the other side.

Needless to say, it was a woman’s voice.

“…Excuse me, Hyakurei-dono!”

He called out again, his voice rougher, when the screen was suddenly thrown open. A giant of a man appeared from within and kicked him square in the face.

“Shut the hell up! We’re busy in here!”

Kicked in the face, Karizome Tenhyo lowered his head, clutching his nose.

“My apologies… where is Hyakurei-dono…?”

At his words, the giant clicked his tongue.

“Huh? You piece of shit. Are you one of those morons who went to spy on that Shiga Inui bastard?”

he said, scornfully planting a foot on his head.

“…Yes.”

he replied, gritting his teeth.

“Hyakurei-dono is busy ‘training’ that old Soui hag right now. I’ll get him for you, so just wait.”

With that, he took his foot off his head and spat a wad of phlegm at him as if to vent his frustration.

(Endure it… just endure… Once this is over, I’ll… I’ll be free.)

Karizome Tenhyo thought, suppressing his rage.

This place is hell.

Everywhere he looked, the sights burned into his mind.

But this was also the proper state of affairs for sorcerers.

The victor gets everything; the loser loses everything, and everything is taken from them.

It was a microcosm of sorcerer society.

At last, Karizome Tenhyo was granted an audience with the head of the Tsuchikurenai clan.

The inside of the room was, in a word, bizarre.

In the Japanese-style room, there was a throne-like chair that looked as if it belonged to Western royalty.

And along the far edge of the spacious room, naked men were sitting in a formal kneeling position.

These were the retainers of the seven sorcerer houses, and their role was that of slaves, under the guise of being guards.

And then there was the man sitting on the throne, bare from the waist up, and next to him, a woman, her kimono undone and draped over her shoulders.

She stood with her hands clasped before her, her face flushed red in shame.

“Good work, Karizome-kun.”

he said, looking at his face.

He was a young man with blond hair and a muscular physique; the kind of looks that would be popular with women.

Keeping his head bowed, he spoke.

“I made contact with Shiga Inui and figured out the principles behind his techniques.”

At his words, Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei clapped his hands in delight.

“Excellent. Nearly everyone has heard how strong he is. I’ve been wanting him to serve me, no matter what it takes.”

“The principles behind his techniques are…”

And so, as Karizome Tenhyo relayed the details of his battle with Shiga Inui and the confirmation of his space-time techniques, Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei listened, nodding over and over.

“I see… If the rumors had been lies, I would’ve just killed him… but he brought seven slaves to the brink of annihilation. His skills must be the real deal… In that case, it’s better to win him over than to fight him.”

If his skills hadn’t been up to par, he’d planned to use his full force to have him killed.

“Well, if I can’t win him over, I’ll just have to control him by force, I suppose.”

With that, he wiggled a finger.

At once, the men sitting in the formal kneeling position in the corner of the room began to move.

Two of the men stood up, embraced, and started kissing each other on the mouth.

Watching the display, he clapped his hands and laughed cheerfully.

“Haha! Yes, yes, just like this. It’s the absolute best, isn’t it? Seeing the guys who defied me kissing each other naked… heh heh.”

Karizome Tenhyo thought it was a cruel spectacle.

“…Um, Hyakurei-dono, about our arrangement…”

Karizome Tenhyo, having delivered the information, asked him fearfully.

“Ah, you’re talking about how I’d free you if you survived this job, right? Yeah, that’s fine. You want to quit being a sorcerer and live quietly with your sister.”

“Yes… Yes!”

He bowed his head and nodded.

He wanted to escape this hell as soon as possible.

“It’s fine. I’ll submit a request to the Chuuitsu Habatsu. On the condition that you, as a sorcerer, sever contact from all related parties, you can live as a normal person.”

Hearing those words, he felt a joy welling up from the bottom of his heart.

(I did it… I did it! With this, I can finally escape… from this hell…)

He thought he was free.

“Shall we call for your sister? Let’s see… Your sister’s post for today was… gate duty, wasn’t it.”

And just like that, his joy was cut short.

He couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard.

“She’s the one you begged me so desperately not to lay a hand on, right? Well, good for you. My men are a hot-blooded bunch, but I’m sure they made an exception for her and protected her chastity, right? You’re so lucky, aren’t you, Karizome-kun?”

He couldn’t hear anything.

All he could remember was the sight of one of the gate guards being assaulted in the bushes.

He had desperately told himself that it wasn’t his sister, but he knew there was no chance of such a happy ending.

After hearing the whole story.

Mineki Shian couldn’t hide her dismay.

She covered her mouth, a look of disgust on her face.

To be stripped of all dignity as a sorcerer and used as a slave.

She had thought she was prepared for such inhumanity.

But she never imagined anyone could be capable of such atrocities.

Hearing the reality of the Tsuchikurenai-ke, she seemed to be filled with regret.

“So, you said you had a favor to ask me, right?” Shiga Inui asked Soui Shuryakuma. “What is it?”

He looked Shiga in the eyes, then pressed his forehead to the ground and pleaded.

“Please… Please! Shiga Inui, you who have destroyed the lines of so many sorcerer families… I’m counting on that strength of yours… I’m begging you… please crush the Tsuchikurenai clan.”

“Huh? No way. Why the hell should I have to do something like that?”

Without a second thought, Shiga Inui stomped on his wish.

“In the first place, I think the way the Tsuchikurenai do things is perfectly natural. The weak are the ones at fault, so everything gets taken from them. That’s how this world works, isn’t it?”

Mineki Shian felt a surge of repulsion at his words.

“I have heard that was the standard in the old days… but don’t you feel any pain in your heart?”

“It would probably hurt like hell. If some other guy got his hands on Shian-chan, I’d probably be so mad I’d kill them all. That’s why you get strong—so things won’t be taken from you… If you can’t do that, it’s all the weakling’s responsibility, isn’t it?”

She was left speechless by his words.

“I’m not a hero of justice, I’m a sorcerer. I chose this path, so I will demonstrate my strength. I’ll keep demonstrating it. That’s how I repay the debt I owe to the person who took me in.”

With the conviction of a sorcerer, he looked completely different from the lecherous slacker he usually was.

“I see… I see, you’re right…”

Soui Shuryakuma whispered faintly, his head hung low.

He looked as if he held nothing but despair, and seeing him, Mineki Shian felt a flicker of sympathy.

“…True, I can’t grant your wish. However… the fact that the Tsuchikurenai-ke has tried to contact Inu means that, sooner or later, they’ll clash with us. When that happens, it’ll just be a matter of which of us survives.”

These words were, in a way, meant to comfort Soui Shuryakuma.

He turned his gaze toward her, but his eyes were devoid of hope.

“I’ve told you what I know… We slaves are told almost nothing about the Tsuchikurenai clan’s affairs… If you can, just kill me, right here. I don’t want to think anymore…”

As Soui Shuryakuma pleaded, Shiga Inui put an arm around Mineki Shian’s shoulder and spoke.

“Why should I have to listen to you? Don’t you dare talk like you’re somebody, you loser. If you’re going to wish for something, go grab it yourself.”

To the very end, Shiga Inui relentlessly attacked him with harsh words.

He started up the stairs leading from the dungeon to the surface.

She swallowed her words and just watched his back.

He was clearly agitated.

She had a feeling she knew why, and that was why she spoke up.

“Don’t you think that was going too far?”

As the words left her mouth, Shiga Inui shook his head, a laugh on his lips.

“Nope, not at all. You gotta let me say at least that much, right?”

In fact, that wasn’t nearly enough, Shiga Inui thought.

Looking at that man, Soui Shuryakuma, made him sick.

It’s just like… just like…

Shiga Inui’s thoughts snagged, and he stopped himself from thinking any further.

“But still… to do something that would completely break his spirit…”

Surely, that man had also been drawn to Shiga Inui’s strength.

He had found a sliver of hope that this man could defeat the target of his revenge.

But the result was tragic; Shiga Inui had denied his wish.

It had made him seem so weak in her eyes, to the point where he ended up begging for his own death.

At her words of compassion for another man, Shiga Inui retorted with a scowl.

“What’s wrong with telling a weak guy he’s weak?”

Mineki Shian was taken aback by his sharp tone.

“…You.”

It had been a while since she had seen him so obsessed with strength.

She remembered the time he had fallen into despair, and a cold sweat ran down her back.

He was staring at his own fist. It was a clean hand, but in his eyes, it was stained dark red.

He clenched it again, tightly—that filthy hand, that hand that couldn’t grasp anything.

“I won’t become like that. I won’t ever be like that. That’s what I decided. I won’t let anyone, no matter who they are, deny that.”

His passion sparked a thought in Mineki Shian’s mind, and she said it aloud.

“…Are you saying that to the you from back then? The one who couldn’t protect anyone?”

Hearing that, Shiga Inui’s eyes shot open.

He was reliving the past, chewing on a helpless despair.

Then, his eyes slowly narrowed as he looked at Mineki Shian.

With an expression of utter disgust, he spoke to her.

“…Hah. You know, Shian-chan.”

It was a look of hatred he had never shown before, not even after all the violence she had inflicted on him.

“Could you shut up for a second?”

Faced with his cold expression, like he was staring down an enemy, she said nothing.

She just stood there, stunned, her face a mask of sympathy.

“…”

What had he just said?

Shiga Inui covered his mouth, realizing his face wasn’t smiling.

He tried to force his usual grin, but his expression wouldn’t obey.

She can’t see me like this, he realized, and hurried up the stairs.

“…Ah, my bad. No, I’m sorry, Shian-chan. Just… let me be alone for a bit.”

With those words, Shiga Inui emerged onto the ground floor.

He left the mansion and headed outside.