Novel Vol 7 Ch 6 (The Winter Sky Soup)

To my delight, the tengu Hatori is featured in this chapter

 

Belated Happy Easter! Again, apologies for taking almost another year to translate Vol 7 Ch 6, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have been working practically full time since late 2023, and I was teaching a new subject in January this year, hence translating the chapter required quite a lot of work during weekends. Next, I will translate a Byakuya intermezzo.

I started translating from p216, from the moment Aoi finished her winter soup dish arrangements above the Seikamaru airship for the guests of the night. The section between p208-216 is about Aoi making macaroons, and TBH I have no time to translate it. Sorry about that, but I hope you understand.

I have now switched my translation style to past tense (as per the English translation norms), instead of present tense (as per the Japanese novel narratives). I hope it is to your liking.

Please refrain from posting my translations elsewhere. If you need to quote it, please acknowledge my site for the quote, because translating from Japanese hardcopy texts to English is a really hard work...

I will delete this translation when there is an indication that the novel will be translated into English, and I will replace it with the summary of the chapter.  Meanwhile, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy reading it at least as much as I enjoy translating it.

Novel Vol 7 Ch 6: The Winter Sky Soup

P216

“Yo! Missy, long time no see!”

The Seikamaru airship was floating above the Yōto sky. It was a busy time when we were busy serving guests who were coming from here and there. Surprisingly, an unusual Tengu customer came by.

“Hatori-san! What are you doing here?”

Hatori-san was the head clerk for an inn from the Southern Land. As always, his wings, covered with the black winter flumage, were elegantly groomed, and he looked nice wearing a stylish haori. He lifted his forefinger in a somewhat satisfied look.

“Uhm, Missy, I’m actually not the head clerk anymore, you know.”

P217

“Eh, for real?”

“Right now I am the Acting Master of Orio-ya. My job is to show up here and there in lieu of Ranmaru – who is lousy at sales – and to promote and sell the Southern Land’s local specialties.”

“Wow… you seem good at it!”

As Orio-ya’s head clerk, Hatori-san was a beloved amongst the staff. However, he also had this restless side of his; always moving around, never staying at one place. Running around in Kakuriyo thus fits his character.

“Are you, by chance, also here to prepare for the Night Meeting?”

“Yep. Ranmaru can’t make any moves yet, so I went ahead and came to Yōto. Well, here I am known as the son of the retired head of the historical Mt. Shumon so I am in a position to compete with the lot here.”

I giggled. “Hatori-san, it seems you have solved your issues with your father.”

“Aah, yeah, thanks to you, Missy ~~”. Resting his elbow on the wagon counter, Hatori-san grinned. “However, it seems Tenjin-ya’s been having a lot of problems lately, eh…”

“So you also know about it, Hatori-san.”

“Of course. Ginji came for some advice, but we also have our own information network. Well, I sympathise a lot with Ōdanna’s circumstances. After all, I’ve known him for a long time.”

Also in his own way, Hatori-san seemed to be worried about Ōdanna-sama.

P218

He did have a rather complicated expression, though.

“However, yeah, Raijū, that bastard. He’s such a real problem. Generally speaking, he seems to hate us Orio-ya, but this time he seems to think that he can also mess up with Tenjin-ya.”

I said nothing, just looking downwards instead. Seeing how I unsuccessfully hid my concerns, Hatori-san changed the subject cheerfully.

“Now… I’ve been going out here and there and I’m so exhausted. Missy, you have anything for me to eat?”

“Ah…uhm… we have only soup today. Please choose one from the four options.”

“Ummm… what’s your recommendation?”

“Sure enough, my first recommendation would be the borsch soup. It’s a famous local winter dish from Eastern Europe; a sour and rich vegetable stew with a characteristic deep red colour.”

“Then… I’ll have it. With its bloody colour, I might feel better drinking it. Us ayakashi like it.”

I giggled. “As always, I like your spirit.”

I used a lot of potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and spring onions and stir-fried sliced red beef from the Southern Land. The bright red borsch was created by simmering tomatoes and turnips.

P219

The soup was garnished with sour cream and chopped parsley. The delicious flavours of the ingredients dissolves into the soup, of which sourness gently spreads into the mouth, making you want to have more. Borsch is best paired with the piroshki meat pie, another famous Eastern European dish. I stuff the meat pie with a lot of Northern Land cheese, so the salty, melted fresh cheese oozes out when you take a bite. Piroshki is filled with minced meat and rice, seasoned with a bit of salt, thus making it a light meal. Piroshki brings out the cheese’s flavour, and yet it is not too heavy when eaten with borsch. It also contains rice, making it easy for the Kakuriyo ayakashi to enjoy.

"Oh, these things that look like manju are delicious. Ouch, ouch, ouch! It’s hot!"

The piroshki are freshly fried; crispy on the outside and overflowing with meat juice and melted cheese from the inside.

Hatori-san seemed to like the meal, but since the meal was hot, he had to be careful so as not to get scalded.  

“Even the red soup has our super red beef, eh.”

 “Of course. After all, we are receiving a lot of beef from Orio-ya.”

Hatori-san laughed. “Turns out, your cooperation is indeed appreciated, Missy! Although our local produce are amazing, your promotion makes a lot of difference!”

“Although I received the produce for free, I am definitely properly using it in my meals.”

Hatori-san continued laughing. “I’m looking forward to our patronage from now on…”

P220

Hatori-san used this opportunity to joke around and lift my spirit, such that seeing his typical demeanour made me laugh.

“By the way, Missy, just between you and me…” Hatori-san’s expression suddenly became serious. He looked around in a vigilant mode before cautiously beckoning at me and whispered in my ear. “Be careful with the Southeastern Hachiyō Zakuro of the Great Lake Confectionery. She’s definitely not on Tenjin-ya’s side.”

“… Eh?”

Zakuro from the Great Lake Confectionery?

Zakuro, art by Laruha 
(taken from Laruha's art book, sourced from this site)

I once saw her from the airship as we travelled from the greengrocer to the air boulevard. I heard that she is an azuki-arai (a bean-washer ayakashi) who is also the first-class wagashi, traditional Japanese confectionery, artisan.



“There’s hardly anyone who knows about this now. However, in the past, Zakuro was working in Tenjin-ya.”

“What… despite her being a Hachiyō?”

“Well, that’s before she became a Hachiyō. Despite her being a heiress of the Great Lake Confectionery working in the Imperial Court, she once abandoned her social status in favour of running a tea house in Tenjin-ya’s inner garden.”

“…Tenjin-ya’s inner garden.”

P221-222

My heart stopped beating for a moment when I heard that story.

Just upon my arrival at Kakuriyo’s Tenjin-ya, I met Ginji-san in a thatched-roofed annex in Tenjin-ya’s inner garden.

That’s right. Ginji-san told me that the annex was originally a tea house.

“Back in the early days, Zakuro was one of the founding members of Tenjin-ya. Despite being a skilled traditional confectionery artisan, she got sick of the formal style of the Great Lake Confectionery. She then created her own lines of confectioneries and served them to the Tenjin-ya guests. Zakuro’s creations had such enchanting charms that it would bring happy dreams to those who ate the sweets. As a result, the tea house became a selling point to support Tenjin-ya back in the early days.”

I remained silent.

“In particular, Zakuro was an expert in making sweets using anko, the red beans, such that the anko-lover Ōgondōji-sama took a liking of her. For a while, rumours that Zakuro was Ōdanna’s fiancée and she would become the future Proprietess of Tenjin-ya were circulating around. Although, well, I don’t know if such feelings existed between Ōdanna and Zakuro.”

“Oh… I … see…”

Slowly slowly, I had a slight tug on my chest that only became tighter and tighter. I wondered why.

I mean, to hear that beautiful woman, who I only saw once, who used to open a teahouse on the same spot as my Moonflower, was dubbed as Ōdanna-sama’s fiancée…

Oh yeah, Ōdanna-sama did say that he once told a woman – and only one woman at that – about his favourite food.

P222-223

What if that woman was Zakuro-san?

“However, Zakuro later left Tenjin-ya in pursuit of her ideal confectionery arts. However, she somehow returned to the Imperial Court to become the Palace confectionery artisan and, before I knew it, she became a Hachiyō. Not sure if it had always been her original plan, but Ōdanna in particular didn’t blame her and he certainly kept watching over her...”

 Hatori-san laughed a bit sadly, as if saying “you just don’t chase after the one who left you”. After all, he also left Tenjin-ya at one point.

“I may have no rights to say this, but Zakuro changed after she left Tenjin-ya. Before, she was an amiable, unsophisticated, good-natured woman who hated social standing and prestige. Her wagashi was unconventional but the taste was interesting and gentle. However, after she returned to the Palace to be their wagashi artisan, her wagashi returned to the basics and became ceremonious. It’s not that it was bad or something, but it was totally against her original conviction. I wonder what went wrong…”

As another chef, I also wondered about the same thing. What kind of mental shift caused such a change?

“And then afterwards, although she used to love and support Tenjin-ya to pieces, after becoming a Hachiyō, she views Tenjin-ya with contempt and started to become hostile towards Tenjin-ya. Maybe she was just true to her Azuki-Arai self, but I have no clue.”

P223

“I heard that, because Ōdanna-sama is an oni^, the Azuki-Arai stops doing business with Tenjin-ya. That’s strange, because, unlike the case between Tenjin-ya and Orio-ya, there should not be a sense of rivalry between a wagashi shop and a bed and breakfast establishment.”

“Yeah, that’s true. However, the Hachiyo power balance doesn’t only depend on official trades. Turns out, Ōdanna being an oni^ also causes disdain and scorns.”

“So… it’s true then that oni^ is seen with contempt by the ayakashi in general.”

“Well, oni^ did eat a lot of ayakashi during the long course of our history. It is said that, if an oni^ devours your soul, even the soul will vanish completely. While we have a lot of low-level oni in Kakuriyo, there are only a handful number of oni with such a high level of power such as Ōdanna’s, though I can’t say that for sure either. Although nowadays Kakuriyo is governed by the rule of law as prescribed by the central government, I did hear something bad about oni in the past, that they ate other ayakashi. Apparently, the entire Azuki-Arai clain suffered a lot during this period, such that they have an ingrained hatred towards oni^ in general.”

Ayakashi who devours other ayakashi.

Perhaps they were referring to “jyaki”.

Because a jyaki once killed a great magnificent king of ayakashi, successive kings saw to it that all jyakis are sealed with no exceptions.

P224

That’s what Byakuya-san said. Although Hatori-san didn’t seem to know that particular detail, I started to be able to connect the dots. In that case, I understood why Sasuke-kun was wary when he saw the airship that belonged to the Great Lake Confectionery’s Southeastern Land Hachiyō.  They certainly wouldn’t want to be our ally in rescuing Ōdanna-sama. That must’ve been Sasuke-kun’s line of thinking.

“Oops, I gotta dash off soon. Thanks a lot for the meals, Missy. Take care of yourself, eh. Also, your meal is really yummy!”

“… thanks a lot, Hatori-san.”

Not sure what kind of face I was making at that time, but Hatori-san blinked a bit in surprise and, moving behind the counter, he cheered me on.

“Why such a long face?” he said. “I understand that you’re worried about Ōdanna and Tenjin-ya, but that expression doesn’t suit you.”

“… Hatori-san?”

“Tenjin-ya still has many allies. Tenjin-ya has rescued many ayakashi, you know. Even we in Orio-ya plan to return the favour you guys gave us a while ago.”

“Return the favour?”

P225

“Yes, we want to return the favour. You helped back then, remember?”

Hatori-san winked at me mischievously. He then slid back his stylish neck warmer on his shoulder before saying “Thank you for the meal ~”, placing the money on the counter and dashing off.

As per usual, freedom and cheerfulness suit him.

It would be reassuring as long as Orio-ya is on our side, but…

“Aoi, anything to eat here?”

“Ah, O-Ryō!”

It must have been a break time because the completely exhausted and hungry O-Ryō, donning her haori and grabbing her purse, came to the wagon for a meal.  

“Today’s been busy, O-Ryō?”

“Yeah. Just banquets after banquets, though there must have been very few banquets in Tenjin-ya right now. Ah, that’s why I hate it! They just dragged me to do annoying stuff!”

“But, see it this way: aren’t you seeing a lot of Yōto celebrities? Aren’t you saying that you might be able to date a cool guy and marry up?”

“Huh~… I did say that, eh, but – how do I say it – these aristocrats ended up looking down on us from the rural areas…”

P226

“Whaaat! Did they say bad things to you?”

“Yep. Not that it matters anyway. However, apparently, if seen from the nobles’ perspectives, Hachiyō are nothing more than country bumpkins, or something like that. Nothing more than leaders of mountain monkeys.”

Huh. The leaders of mountain monkeys, eh. It certainly made me feel like they were mocking us. It made me angry.

“Particularly, that wicked noble chick! She looked at me and was like,  do this do that, girl! We were very busy, you know!”

“Hold on, stop banging on my counter, will you? If you want to vent out your frustration, why don’t you eat to your heart’s content? We have warm soup today; which one do you want? What about the hearty curry consommé soup? I heard that spices are good to handle stress, and it’s sprinkled with diced bacon.”

“Ooohh… curry… Is that different from your usual homemade curry?”

“A bit smoother than that. Rather than a curry, curry-flavoured pot-au-feu is the more appropriate term, I guess. I put cabbage, large slices of carrots, and whole potatoes into the curry soup today. It’s most satisfying to eat. I can also top it with the Tenjin-ya onsen tamago.”

P227

“In that case, shall I have that one?”

“As for the carb… I can serve you the toast, but you like rice, so… perhaps onigiri is better for you? Multigrain rice is nice too. Mix it into the soup, making it a soup rice.”

“Wow, that sounds yummy! The smell of curry… really makes me hungry!”

Since O-Ryo’s tummy did rumble, I quickly served the curry soup rice into a cup. The cup was bigger than usual. I put the multigrain rice at the base, ladled in the vegetable-laden curry soup into the bowl and topped it with boiled broccoli and half of an onsen tamago.

“Here you go. Use the spoon to mix the rice and soup and eat the dish. It’s hot, so be careful, yeah.”

“Yaaay! Thank you for the food ~~~!”

 O-Ryo plopped herself on the counter seat and started eating. First, she loudly slurped the homemade consommé of the curry soup. The cabbage, simmered until soft and tender, and the whole soft and flaky potato were just the right vegetables for winter. The plentiful homemade bacon, cut into bite-sized cubes, seared once, was another feature for this dish.

P228

Mixed with the multigrain rice, these ingredients created an exquisite umami. It was a bit different from the normal curry, but O-Ryo seems to be pleased with the smooth feeling of the strong curry-flavoured dish.

“Ooohhh…. This was yummy! Thank you for the meal~~~. Sure thing, it’s different from the normal curry, but I also like this.”

“I’m glad that you seem to like it.”

Dabbing the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, O-Ryo said, “Yep… In the middle of winter like this, enjoying hot food outside like this, it reminds me of the oden served at Tenjin-ya at the end of the year.”

“Eh, what do you mean?”

Seeing my blank face, O-Ryo suddenly realised something.

“Oh yeah, you’re not yet fully one year in Tenjin-ya.  It’s unusual for an inn, but Tenjin-ya is not operating during New Year holiday to give the employees chance to spend time with their families at home. It was such a typical Ōdanna-sama decision, right? And then, to finish off the year, all staff are doing the big general clean up. During that time, the kitchen daruma guys made big portions of oden and brought it to the inner garden for everyone to enjoy. That’s our yearly event. However… we have no oden this year…”

O-Ryō later sighed, as if saying 'But that’s not the point'.


P229-230

“Riiiight. Let’s do our best. Even when we deal with nasty people, as long as we have delicious meals waiting for us, that’s okay, we can go through it! Stress-eating all the way! But nooo… I can’t do that, cos I’ll get fat!”

Grumbling away in good humour, O-Ryō returned to work.

We had a good reception with today’s soup, perhaps due to the cold winter. The warm soup, loaded with vegetables, gave such a warm and cozy feeling and made you feel good.  It was also nice to sometimes have the Tenjin-ya staff coming to enjoy the meal.

After the close of business, I packed some leftover soup in small cups. Later, I would ask Ai-chan to share the rest with the Tenjin-ya staff working at the main building. The Moonflower was not open today, and Akatsuki did say that he’d been having issues finding meals after work.

Meanwhile, getting ready to go back down to Yōto, Sasuke-kun was waiting for me.

“Next time, you’ll take me again with you yeaaaaah…~~~”

“Okay, okaaay, Chibi. Really, you’ve been nesting at the wagon seat and sleeping all day there anyway!”

“Aoi-samaaaa…., I’ll be enjoying my freedom for a while, right? I’ll be nesting in Moonflower for a while now.”

“Yes yes yes. Ai-chan, please protect Moonflower and take care of our friends at Tenjin-ya. Sheesh… we have such different personalities even with just two sidekicks!”

P230-231

With Chibi tagging along, once again I went along with Sasuke-kun to descend to Yōto in a small airship. I secretly held in my hands the macaroons that I whipped up early in the morning as a gift for Takechiyo-sama. 

The silent ambience that greeted us upon arriving at the Nui-no-in residence felt different somehow. Sasuke-kun’s heightened awareness sensed it as well, thus he stepped in front of me to survey the surroundings cautiously.

“Aoi-san!!!”

Ritsuko-san went down from the external corridor and rushed over to us.

“Ritsuko-san, what on earth is happening? Something is off here…”

“Aoi-san. Takechiyo-sama was forced to leave this place.”

“What?! Who – who did that?”

“A Palace Shogun by the name of Akaguma. He forced Takechiyo-sama to return to the Palace with him.”

 Even as I was listening to Ritsuko-san’s story, I still couldn’t understand the circumstances. The macaron souvenir that was intended for Takechiyo-sama, I instinctively held that macaron package to my chest.

“Why? Why would such a thing…”

“I have no clue. It seems the order came directly from the King, but the real intention is lost to me.

P231

Mind you, it was also the King who unilaterally ordered that we keep Takechiyo-sama here and take care of him.”

“No way… that’s too selfish of the King!”

Totally ignoring the fact that I was able to make Takechiyo-sama opening up, dining together with him, and laughing together with him. Ignoring the wishes of the person in question, due to circumstances caused by adults around him, Takechiyo-sama was made to stay in one place, and later being whisked away again. That was truly selfish of the King.
 
That was also the reason why that child couldn’t even eat, an activity that is so essential for him to keep on living.

“Ricchan, are you okay?”

“Nu-sama…”

Exactly at that time, Nui-no-in-sama came back from his work at the Imperial Palace. He seemed to have grasped the situation in his own house.

“Forgive me, Ricchan. You must have been so scared, and yet I am just this pathetic being.” Nui-no-in-sama ran towards Ritsuko-san to touch her cheek.

“No, Nu-sama. I myself am fine. However, Takechiyo-sama…”

“… It was the King’s decision. That person, he no longer trusts anyone. For sure, he also suspects us.”

It seemed to me that Nui-no-in-sama knew about a particular situation.

P232

At the same time, he suddenly realised that Sasuke-kun and I were there too.

“O-ooh! Forgive me, I have been remiss! Aoi-san, you and your friend are here, yet I did not greet you properly.”

“Not at all, Sir. It’s been a while. Busy as you might, may I know what is going on?”

“Oh, well, it’s true that Takechiyo-sama’s case is an issue, but we have another problem too. Shortly, there will be an official announcement to the public regarding the case of Tenjin-ya’s Master. When it happens, Tenjin-ya will undoubtedly receive a heavy blow!”

“…What…”

That was, for certain, going to be a terrifying situation for us.

Nui-no-in-sama told us to go inside the inner parlour for now. Then, we were guided to the a room inside the mansion, before going deeper into the basement.  There, tucked cosily, was a small inner parlour where we decided to have the talk once we bolted the door shut.

First, we sipped tea, which returned our composure despite the chaotic situation.

“I’m sending Byakuya-san out on an errand just now.  Aoi-san, have you met him somewhere around here before?”

“Yes, at a slightly mysterious place, like a cemetery. At that time, Raijū found me, but Byakuya-san rescued me from him. However, come to think of it, now I wonder what Byakuya-san was doing in such a place like that…”

P233

“Cemetery?”

Surprised, Nui-no-in-sama and Ritsuko-san looked at each other. Afterwards, they said nothing and, instead, they looked down, studying the floor.  

“Perhaps, Byakuya-san was paying his respect.”

“Paying his respect? To whom?”

“To his wife.”

“What…?”

Sasuke-kun and I both kept asking “What?  What?” a few seconds later. I thought I misheard it, but I apparently heard just fine.

“Was, was he, was he married?”

“I have never heard about it, that I have not…”^

Even Sasuke-kun didn’t seem to know about it, and for some reasons, he was trembling.

I totally get it.

“But, ah, I see. Even in Tenjin-ya, not many people know about it, thus this info is not public knowledge. You see, Byakuya-san got married before Tenjin-ya was built.”  

For a while, Nui-no-in-sama seemed to ponder whether to spill the beans or not before he told us the story.

P234

“Byakuya-san’s wife was someone called Suzume, but we also never saw her. Byakuya himself hardly talked about that time.” Ritsuko-san explained as a way to add to Nui-no-in-sama’s story. “However, just once, when I was about to marry Nu-sama, that Byakuya-san told us about Suzume-san. The reason was because Suzume-san was also a human.”

“Human? Byakuya-san’s wife was a human?”

“That is correct, Aoi-san. I am definitely not privy to the details of their meeting, but it seems that Suzume-san’s life was particularly short. No, it was not that she died young; it was just that her lifespan was very short. It is particularly so when compared with the lifespan of an ayakashi like Byakuya-san.”

I said nothing.

“After Byakuya-san’s wife passed away, Ōdanna-sama asked him to help with the establishment of Tenjin-ya. For Byakuya-san, Suzume-san is the only one for him. Ayakashi are devoted beings, after all.”

Is that so…

Even until now, we only assumed that Byakuya-san was single. He was so mature and wise, such that we thought that he harboured no romantic interests at all. However, once upon a time, there was another life where he was in love with a human woman.

P235

That was the reason why he told Ritsuko-san and Nui-no-in-sama about his own wife.

It was a story of the inevitable gap between human and ayakashi, a gap that was also drawing me in.

“Sorry to digress, but we have mounting problems here. The fact that the Master of Tenjin-ya is a jyaki will be made public very soon. When it happens, Tenjin-ya’s reputation will take a free fall. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Minister of the Left^ caucus, which has been advocating for the Hachiyō system to be abolished, will take action and bring about the Hachiyō abolition in one sitting. Nonetheless, the Minister of the Right’s caucus will not be silent either, thus leading to a major confrontation.”

“This plot twist seems… to have been calculated; that, it does.” Sasuke-kun whispered nonchalantly.

Nodding in agreement, Nui-no-in-sama replied, “Exactly. This plot is progressing as if it was scripted by someone. Most likely…”

“Raijū…”

The name jumped out of my mouth.

“Yes. For you, Aoi-san, he must be like your hateful mortal enemy. Rather, many people actually hate his guts. However, not many have the ability to stop Raijū in Kakuriyo these days. That guy is now standing at a crossroads in Kakuriyo, and he keeps directing the plot so that it goes to the direction that he desires. Most likely this time around, Raijū is putting in all efforts towards his end game: the abolishment of the Hachiyō system. The confusion, the pandemonium, everything going up in flame in a grand scale.”

A plot. That one summer case in Orio-ya might have been one of them, I guess.

P236-237

Raijū must have been involved in that Southern Land ceremony last summer. He is indeed standing at Kakuriyo’s crossroads.

“It must have been my fault… I ruined his plot when I was at Orio-ya. Afterwards, he shifted his target to Tenjin-ya.”

“No, Aoi-san. For sure, your actions there caught his attention. However, if we look at it from another perspective, you and you alone can rewrite Raijū’s plot.”

“… what?”

Even Ritsuko-san nodded to confirm Nui-no-in-sama’s statement.

“Tsubaki Shirō was also like that, it seems. Although Raijū is touted as an exalted ayakashi who can do as he pleases, he was totally at Shirō’s mercy. The very existence of humans who come from another world holds the power to overthrow Raijū.”

“Me… holding what…? But –”

Now that things have come to this, this was what I thought at that time: What more can I do? If Raijū’s plot goes as planned, Tenjin-ya might lose and, at the end, will be totally squashed. How am I supposed to stop that evil plan of his?

At that time, I just couldn’t think of any.

Meanwhile, Ritsuko-san was asking Nui-no-in-sama about Takechiyo-sama. “Nu-sama, regarding the matter about Takechiyo-sama being taken away against his will, does it have anything to do with what we talked about just now?”

P237

“Correct, Ricchan. Perhaps the King has grown to doubt everyone. After all, we both are indebted to Tenjin-ya and – most of all – to Byakuya-san.”

“I suppose, it’s troublesome to raise an issue about Takechiyo-sama, for it would stir more troubles. I truly do not wish to involve that child in politics like this."

Unable to hold back her tears, Ritsuko-san wiped them away with her sleeve.

“Takechiyo-sama was so scared; he ended up crying. That poor boy. Sensing the darkness of the Imperial Court, that small child’s been convinced that he was not needed, that he has been abandoned. Nevertheless, he seems to have finally found a place to belong here. And yet afterwards, with no explanations, he was dragged back to where he came from.”

“The current King… he might think that he’s the only one who truly understand Takechiyo-sama’s heart as it stands now. The King was also once subjected to throne power struggles and Kakuriyo’s state of affairs.”

I was not able to say anything despite listening to what Nui-no-in-sama and Ritsuko-san had to say. To date, I would have been able to come up with something to overcome the hardship. However, perhaps because this case was beyond my skills to handle, I remained quite timid.
 
“Since this morning, Takechiyo-sama had always been asking when you would be coming back, Aoi-san. He said that the two of you made a promise. That’s why he didn’t want to go back to the Palace. He said he wanted to eat something.”

“Takechiyo-sama said that…?”

P238

“Yes. It was thanks to you, Aoi-san. That child, he does not just eat. He is now able to express what he wants to eat.  However, that child is now is in the Palace, and I am wondering whether he is eating properly at all.”

I couldn’t say anything. My chest hurt just to think about Takechiyo-sama.

However, suddenly, as if seeing a dim light at the end of the tunnel, I knew what I had to do. Takechiyo-sama said that he wanted to eat something. That thing was perhaps the thing I made and brought here. The promised snack.

Then I thought of how, for the moment, thinking about difficult things was useless. I thought it was best to just go and see Takechiyo-sama to deliver him the promised snack.

Of course. The very thing that I can do, my cooking, would always lead the way…

“Uh, excuse me…”

The moment I was about to voice that suggestion, Sasuke-kun grabbed my hand before shaking his head with a stern face.  As if he knew what I was going to suggest, with cold stares he shook his head. Unconsciously, I swallowed my words.


P239

“Ah, forgive me, Aoi-san. You must be tired. Please take a rest first for now. Tomorrow, we’ll think about what we shall do about this issue.”

“Ah, right, very well…”

Ritsuko-san might have detected my strange demeanour, because as soon as we finished our discussion, she led me to the bedroom. I decided to pretend to sleep, but I ended up napping for a bit. However, once I breathed in the cold winter morning, I woke up and after a moment of daze…

“Hey, Sasuke-kun.”

I called up to the ceiling. Immediately, Sasuke-kun’s “What is it?” reply came in.

“Why did you prevent me from saying anything just then?”

“Because you planned to sneak into the Imperial Palace, Aoi-san. Such was the reason.”

“Is that a difficult thing to do?”

“But of course! Do you know how much the Palace is protected from unauthorised entry, and by none other than the Silver Pigeon Squad and the Wild Boar Corps at that!”

Sasuke-kun’s head appeared from the ceiling. It was unusual to hear him raising his voice like that. Although he sounded angry, I couldn’t tell for sure from where I was.

P240

“Okay, got it. However, I still want to deliver the macaroons to Takechiyo-sama somehow. I’m sure we can do something about it.”

Of course that didn’t soften Sasuke-kun’s grim expression.

“However, they will recognise us there, they will. Entering the Palace unauthorised will put my life at risk, even for me. On top of that, you’re a human, Aoi-dono. You are not an ayakashi, and it would be far too dangerous if we are detected.”

“So, if there is a secret passage, things can be different?”

“Uh… yes… That would seem so. However, how would such… Wait.”

Sasuke-kun looked around cautiously to find a fusuma screen connecting this room with the next room slid open like an automatic door. In the dim light, a vague pure white figure emerged, such that Sasuke-kun and I – quivering as we were – switched to alarm mode. However, the pure white figure began to resemble someone that we knew very well: our Head of Accountant.

“Wait… are you… Byakuya…san?”

“I’d like to think this is who I am.”

Byakuya-san slammed the fusuma screen shut and sat down next to us.

P241

Then, he stared at me. Fearing that he knew about my reckless infiltration proposal, I steadied myself for a scold. However,

“Aoi-kun, normally, I would scold you for your shoot-first-think-later, reckless ideas. However, this time, I have my own thoughts on that. I do think you should give Takechiyo-sama that handmade souvenir of yours. I will accompany you. Of course, we also need Sasuke-kun’s help here.”

Wait, he’s not mad at me?

Instead, with a wicked smile on his face, Byakuya-san held his hand-fan near his mouth, completely engrossed in his thoughts.

“Even I have a mountain of grievances I want to air to the King. However, I can’t say those things if I cannot enter the Palace. Hence, might as well use your reckless plan, Aoi-kun, and threaten them a bit, so to speak.”

Whaddaya mean by “threaten them”?

Byakuya-san calmed down and opened his fan, fanning his face with a flapping noise.

“Right, I must to put a stop on this madness; that, I must…”

Byakuya-san laughed. “You’re such an ideal candidate for the future Head of Niwaban, Sasuke-kun! Surely you’re excited at the prospect of raiding the most protected castle in Kakuriyo!”

“Right… I give up. Que sera, sera, that is all I can say.”

P242-243

I’m telling you, it was very rare to see such an enthusiastic Byakuya-san and such an offhand Sasuke-kun.

"Well, don't worry. All responsibility lies with Aoi, the one who came up with the idea."

“What?!”

“If only Aoi-dono has not made such a reckless suggestion…”

“Wait, why do I have a feeling that you two are laying the blame on me? Or rather, are you guys treating me like a nuisance to get rid of?!”

“Well, you are Shirō-dono’s granddaughter, that you are.”

“Shirō’s granddaughter sounds terrible, but it makes me think that it’s actually a good idea.”

As if saying ‘Like grandfather, like granddaughter’, both Sasuke-kun and Byakuya-san shook their heads.

It was indeed a bit annoying, but I might have inherited this recklessness from Grandpa. Well, can’t be helped. It’s not like I was trying to make a ruckus or something. I just wanted to do things that I could do. I just wanted to keep my promise.  

Immediately, Byakuya-san took out a map from his kimono fold and explained where the secret passage was.

“A garden cemetery…? Before, we accidentally ran into Raijū in a garden cemetery. Is there a secret passage going towards the Palace in that cemetery?”

“Yep. That large garden cemetery was actually carved into a mountain. My family used to live at the foot of that mountain. By the order of King at that time, our One Thousand Year Mole Saraku and his brother Shimon drilled a secret passage from the Palace into my house.

P243

It was originally for the King to escape in times of emergency, but mostly it was used so that the King could hide and come to me to play.”

I couldn’t say anything.

“Right now, no one knows the existence of that secret passage… so we might as well make good use of it.”

Afterwards, like thieves, sneakily and in whispers, we worked out our scheme to infiltrate the Royal Palace. 

~ TBC in Vol 7 Intermezzo 2 ~

-xxx-

Translation notes

Following Kakuriyo Translation & Fan Translator By Choice, I put the page numbers of the original novel volumes (the Japanese version) in the translation to enable any readers who can read Japanese and have the books to examine the related pages. If the last sentence of a page goes over the next page, I will put a combined page number as an indication.

I use mainly Jisho.org for Kanji searching, though at times Romajidesu.com and Nihongo-pro.com are used as well. I use Google Translator to have a rough guess of the meaning of phrases, but then I consult my trusted Japanese grammar book for the closer approximations of the meanings (the “Japanese the Manga Way” by Wayne P. Lammers – I would have otherwise tripped on nuances such as “kita”, “iku” and “okimasu”). I use The Jaded Network for SFX effect translations.

Seigo Nakao’s “Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary” has proven to be very useful as a companion to Jisho.org. To assist with grammar, I also use Naoko Chino’s “All About Particles”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Japanese Core Words and Phrases”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Common Japanese Collocations”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Basic Connections” and Kamiya Taeko’s “Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication”.

Specific translation notes:

P223:

^ I rechecked the "oni" kanji used in this page, and they were indeed written as 鬼 or "oni" instead of 邪鬼 or "jyaki". So, Hatori was referring to Ōdanna-sama as "oni" instead of "jyaki". The only time "jyaki" appeared in this page is when Aoi narrated it twice at the end of the page.

P233:

^ I’ve decided to copy Rurouni Kenshin anime (Netflix) in translating Sasuke-kun’s “de gozaru”. In the current Rurouni Kenshin anime, if Kenshin said, “Watakushi ha onigiri ga daisuki de gozaru”, the translation is something like “I love onigiri, that I do.”

P235:
^ The Minister of the Right (Sadaijin) vs the Minsiter of the Left (Udaijin) conflict here is not the same as the western right wing vs left wing conflicts in many western countries. During the Asuka to Meiji era governments, Sadaijin (right) oversaw Udaijin (left), and thus it could lead to many conflicts if both caucuses were in disagreements.