Chapter 101 - 9-2
The elites of the Kosa Empire brought Aver city down in short order.
Aver is a port town connected to Malfa city by the Shaal River. It could be called the maritime gateway to the royal capital, Malfa.
The battle was exactly as the Great King Geraha Wolf envisioned.
A sudden assault, infiltrating the town before the enemy could close the castle gates, and seizing the castle itself.
This speed must have stunned Malfa city. Geraha could not resist heading to Aver city himself to praise his soldiers.
The lord was known as the Marquis of Aver of the Aiden family.
The Marquis of Aver, his consort, son, and daughters were captured.
It was the castle's keep. A Southern soldier brought the Marquis of Aver forward. His hair and beard were white. Seeing Geraha's physique and hideous face, the head of the Aiden family began to tremble violently. The Southerner tried to force the Marquis of Aver to his knees, but Geraha stopped him.
He should first see whether the man would kneel of his own accord.
"Kill me," the old man said in a thin voice. He spoke in the Enagamo language.
"Even without being told, I shall kill your people," Geraha threatened, also in Enagamo. "I intend to drag them, screaming, to the gates of Malfa city. I shall whip them one by one until they spit out curses against the King of Siddim, and then I shall lop off their heads."
"The people of the kingdom do not curse their king."
"Is that so? Shall we test it? How old is your daughter? Is your consort beautiful? If you prefer, your son's backside will do. And what about you? Can you serve as my bed-companion? I am fierce. If I say I will forgive you if you insult the King of Siddim, what will you do? It would be amusing to ravish your wrinkled backside until you beg the King of Siddim for help."
"Kill me, King of Barbarians."
"I see."
—So it is like this.
The Marquis of Aver feared the King of Siddim more than the Geraha before him. The history of the Alish family was a thousand years, so he said. Perhaps they were the oldest bloodline in the world. A fear of that blood was likely ingrained in the citizens of Siddim.
The authority of the oldest bloodline had utility.
The brand-new nation Geraha planned and the ancient authority that continued to this day would be a fitting match. Geraha was not merely blinded by the beauty of Luchentin Alish. If the people of this country revered that bloodline, he would utilize it. In other words, he would marry the princess and establish a new royal house.
Geraha dismissed the old Marquis.
"He is quite a fine old man, but I suppose there is no choice but to kill him."
He spoke to Hazab, the Southerner who had come with him.
Hazab nodded. "If possible, I would like to behead him before the very eyes of the King of Siddim."
"True. But there is a matter of timing," Geraha said. "It will not be too late even after negotiations begin. However, the moment enemy warships glimmer beyond the horizon, execute the entire clan and every relation. Until then, treat them with courtesy."
"Understood. Speaking of warships, it seems there are no warships in this town to seize. The Northern Inland Sea is the enemy's sea. It is possible the enemy will come by sea."
"In that case, Hazab, you may let the enemy land. I would like to steal the enemy's warships if possible, but well, that would be difficult."
"But—"
"I do not mind enemies from the sea landing. However, it is not good for the enemy to seize this castle. It is a nuisance if they hole up inside. Destroy the castle and the town's defensive walls as much as possible. Strip away their defensive power."
"Understood. What shall we do with the people?"
"Expel them," Geraha said cruelly. "Let them go neither west nor east. Let them wander until they realize that Malfa city is the only place they can turn to. I shall leave one castle gate unbesieged. I will have the refugees pound on that gate."
"Malfa city will likely not open its gates."
"Then that is fine. We shall provide them with generous protection on our end. The King of Siddim will be troubled."
—Or perhaps the opposite.
He could lop off the heads just as he declared to the Marquis of Aver. In any case, he would handle things flexibly to exert pressure on the opponent.
Geraha was not here for play.
He bore the fate of every single soldier.
No matter what it took, he was prepared to do what must be done.
It was the road back from Aver city to the main camp besieging Malfa city.
Geraha encountered a courier rider galloping with fierce momentum.
It was a Kijimute with a face like a split seam. The Kijimute came right up to Geraha, reared his horse, and practically fell off as he dismounted.
"From Brazm and Pusiteto-sama!"
With a loud voice that reached everyone present, the Kijimute held out a letter.
Geraha dismounted faster than anyone else there and rushed toward the Kijimute.
He opened the letter immediately.
"Hazab... Big Brother Mozu is alive."
"Hyaa," Hazab, who had dismounted and approached, let out a strange sound.
Geraha also felt a sense of disbelief. In truth, he wondered if he could believe it. A prisoner who returned so simply was suspicious. Though he did not want to think it, it was possible that Big Brother Mozu had become a puppet of the enemy.
"How is Mozu Wolf?" Geraha asked.
"He had become terribly thin," the Kijimute answered.
"Did Pusiteto say anything?"
"To believe this Pusiteto."
—If Pusiteto says so, then it is safe.
Geraha thought. However, if Big Brother Mozu had returned, he must be given an important mission. Geraha needed to meet him personally and see his condition.
Geraha's mind spun rapidly.
"Kijimute, is Big Brother Mozu heading this way?"
"Yes."
"Send another courier to tell Big Brother Mozu. Tell him it does not matter if he takes his time to recover fully, so he should come slowly. Absolutely do not push him. Tell him Geraha Wolf is overjoyed. You may rest for two or three days. In the meantime, I shall tell you of the progress here. Tell Pusiteto as well."
"Understood."
"Huchi, are you there?"
When Geraha called out behind him, Huchi Bass's horse shook its head and approached.
"I have a request. Come here a moment."
Geraha further called Hazab, returned to his horse, and moved slightly away from the staff officers.
—Euryas Convent for Women.
"Do you know it?" Geraha asked Huchi.
"Was it the fortress where the nuns are?"
"That's the one."
A man named Jilkito was besieging that convent.
"A man from a clan with ties to the Wolf clan—"
Geraha had known Jilkito since childhood. As a child, he was slender and, if anything, inconspicuous, a boy who tended to hide behind someone's back. Geraha evaluated that he had become a brave man as he grew. However, since he had heard rumors from those around him that he lacked foresight, he had been assigned a lieutenant named Quwarshi.
Geraha told Huchi that he wanted him to take over the siege of Euryas in place of Jilkito.
"The woman I consider as my primary consort may be there. The princess of this country."
Huchi and Hazab gasped.
"You probably think this is not the work of a hero who slew enemy generals—"
"Great King, what are you saying?"
Huchi Bass was a fine man with a square jaw and a beard. Unlike his worrywart younger brother Nahal Bass, he was easygoing and possessed a detachment that allowed him to dive into danger with a laugh. He was a good sort.
"First, I shall have the soldiers wash their bodies and dress up."
Geraha laughed.
In any case, not a single person must be let out of the convent. Not a single person must be let in. He also ordered that if the nuns were starving, they should be provided with fodder and provisions.
"Tell Jilkito to return to the main camp. Since the man called Quwarshi is clever, you should add him to your staff. However, if Jilkito flatly refuses, give up."
"Understood. I shall head there immediately. Rest assured."
Huchi showed his white teeth and set off on his horse.
Besieging a building where only women were present.
Geraha could not believe there were those who could not fulfill such a simple task. Even Jilkito should have been more than capable.
Nevertheless, Geraha had sent Huchi to the site.
Perhaps Geraha had some sort of premonition.
—Come to think of it, this guy,
Geraha looked with uneven eyes at Jilkito, who was prostrate before him.
—He used to kick me quite a bit.
The Great King's tent in the Malfa siege line.
Malfa city was not something that remained only inside the walls. Houses overflowed outside the walls as well. In particular, the urban areas that likely formed spontaneously outside the great gates of the north, south, east, and west had a scale of a small city on their own.
Of course, almost all the residents who lived there had evacuated inside the walls.
The Great King's tent was on a hill that looked like a pasture, overlooking those houses.
The air inside the tent was grim. Everyone present had a displeased look on their face.
Huchi Bass, who had headed to the Euryas Convent for Women leading a retinue, had returned immediately and brought a report to Geraha. The Southern infantry and Kosa cavalry who had been besieging Euryas had broken the siege and were loitering in a village called Fibril. It was said they had fled for a time after being attacked by the enemy. The convent was already an empty shell. Huchi had confirmed this with his own eyes. The whereabouts of the nuns were unknown.
Soon after, Jilkito, who had been hiding in the forest, arrived at Fibril village.
When Huchi Bass asked for the details, it seemed he had attacked the convent.
As for Quwarshi, whom he had dispatched as a lieutenant, Jilkito had beheaded him.
—What is with this guy?
Geraha turned his eyes toward Jilkito with a dull expression.
He had failed to follow a single order.
Geraha's memories were resurfacing. Jilkito was certainly the boy who had come to bully Geraha along with Kohal. He could be called Kohal's lackey.
Kohal was the girl who had swung her fists at Geraha even while deceiving the eyes of adults. Since he had followed such a girl, his true nature might simply be cowardice.
Geraha wanted to treat Jilkito as fairly as possible.
"Jilkito, first raise your head and steady your breathing."
Jilkito did as he was told.
"I shall let you explain yourself."
"The Siddim Western Army exists!" Jilkito shouted in a high-pitched voice. "My unit's scouts confirmed it—!"
"Hey, what is this!" Hazab said.
"Enough with the nonsense!" Huchi also flared up.
Geraha raised his palm and quieted the two. "First, let him speak. And? You got the feeling that the enemy is to the west, then?"
"Precisely," Jilkito said with a sincere expression. "Quwarshi said that the nuns of Euryas might be taken."
"And?"
"First, I exchanged arrow-letters with the nuns inside..."
Jilkito spoke incessantly. Geraha tapped his knee irritably with his finger. He was hardly listening. It was too different from Huchi's report to feel like listening. More than that, trivial memories of the past surged up in his chest one after another, accompanied by unpleasant feelings. Kohal had once placed a thick caterpillar on Geraha's face as a prank. Jilkito had seen it and vomited while crying.
—That was hurtful.
Not only that. He had urine poured on his head, and his upper arms had been pinched persistently. Geraha was surprised that such memories still existed.
Suddenly noticing, Jilkito, Huchi, and Hazab were shouting and fighting with each other.
"Enough."
Geraha quieted the scene.
In short, Jilkito had defied Geraha's orders and killed Quwarshi, whom Geraha had dispatched, without any significant reason. On top of that, he had failed in the siege of the convent for women. What would happen because of that failure? Geraha might need to advance troops to the west of Siddim to pursue the vanished princess. In that event, the loss of human life would be borne by Geraha, who failed to see through Jilkito's stupidity.
It could not be helped. It was his own lack of discernment.
However, there was Jilkito's attitude. No matter how stupid he was. No matter how stupid a man was, Geraha did not want to blame him for that stupidity. As long as he was humble about his own stupidity. But how should he view an attitude that patched over one's own stupidity with lies? If Jilkito thought he could deceive with words, that Geraha could be deceived, it was proof that he looked down on Geraha. Geraha's pride was wounded, but first, as an organizational problem, it could not be overlooked. If the general of the army was being mocked, it would not be a war.
Even so, Geraha put off Jilkito's punishment.
He was so angry from childhood memories that he felt he might confuse public and private matters.
"Jilkito, step back. I shall give my verdict later."
Surprisingly, Jilkito remained stubbornly defiant and did not move.
He looked back at Geraha with haughtiness.
It did not stop there. Jilkito suddenly stood up and drew his barbarian blade. "Uora, Geraha!"
Jilkito bared his teeth and growled.
"Nushaa, do you still underestimate me!"
Geraha felt pathetic. He remained sitting cross-legged with composure and ignored Jilkito's barbaric act.
The others present seemed to feel the same. The Great King was being pointed at with a blade. Yet, everyone looked at Jilkito with exasperated faces and ignored him. It seemed the warriors could tell the sincerity of one who drew a sword.
"I know your depths," Jilkito said.
"Is that so. What kind of man am I?"
When Geraha asked, Jilkito's eyes darted back and forth. He had surely intended to mock Geraha's childhood humiliations, but it seemed he had not prepared an answer.
Unable to watch, Huchi stood up sluggishly and snatched the sword from Jilkito. Then, he punched Jilkito in the face two, three times. Jilkito crouched down, spraying nosebleed.
Everyone watched blankly as the guards from outside entered and led Jilkito away.
The tent was filled with sighs. Everyone felt unpleasant. However, thanks to the man Hazab brought next, the atmosphere brightened somewhat.
Jilkito had captured a single enemy soldier.
A youth with golden hair. The youth stated his identity in Enagamo with dignity.
To Geraha's question of whether the West had dispatched an army here, the youth snorted.
"Who do you think saved the maidens who dedicate their lives to the God of Roma? Use your head."
Hearing the youth's answer, Geraha exchanged looks with his staff officers.
It was a spirited answer.
"Even in war, we wish to conduct ourselves with courtesy," Geraha said. "I would at least like to know the name of the general of the Western Army."
"Laicanel," the youth said fearlessly. "Laicanel Thora."
"The son of Sedias Thora?"
"Indeed."
Laughter broke out in the tent. It seemed the Northerners were also driven by a desire for revenge if their fathers were killed. In this point, they were the same as Kosa. It was a laugh that meant a rather favorable welcome, brought about by the alignment of passions transcending ethnic differences.
"Very well. I shall be a respectful opponent. I imagine that son is strong."
Geraha asked.
The captive man tilted his head.
—It is an unknown quantity.
He said something to that effect in Enagamo.
"However, regarding women, he is tremendous. Laicanel-sama is a person who makes the beauties of the whole world fall for him. He will steal your consort too. You should keep her hidden."
He spoke with great bravado.
"Quite something. Did he sleep with Luchentin Alish as well?"
"It is rude to speak that name so familiarly," the youth seemed offended. "However, the princess was once Laicanel-sama's fiancée."
"Is it different now? That is good. I intend to volunteer as the groom myself."
The youth looked at Geraha with an exasperated face. "It is pitiful, but you should know your place."
"Royal marriages are not decided by the two parties looking at each other's faces. Two people who feel they must unite for the peace of the people are the ones who bind," Geraha said with a knowing look. "By the way, there are other princesses in the Alish family, aren't there?"
"There probably are. I do not know well."
"You do not know?"
"I think there are two or three."
"You are not well-informed. Why do you know about Princess Luchentin?"
"Everyone knows of Princess Lucy," the captive youth blushed slightly. "She is popular."
—Popular?
Geraha caught on to that word.
She was apparently a popular princess known throughout the kingdom. The enemy army had saved her.
"She is called Princess Lucy, then?"
Geraha could see the enemy's plan as if it were in the palm of his hand. The enemy must have sought a quick result. If they recovered a daughter of the royal house from the enemy's hands, the people would rejoice. Moreover, if the one who saved the princess was the Prince who was her former fiancé, people would have no end of things to talk about. The enemy knew they lacked momentum. They likely wanted a move to compensate for that.
—Surprisingly, a clever move.
Laicanel and the like would likely advertise the rescue and return of the princess greatly. The citizens of Siddim might shout with joy and be emboldened. On this side, they were already facing Malfa city, the enemy's vital point. That fact alone should have covered Siddim in a mood of war-weariness.
It would be unacceptable to have that overturned.
Or perhaps he was overreacting. It was possible they had merely protected a branch of the royal family for the time being.
Geraha asked the blonde captive.
"Who was leading the cavalry?"
"Ness di Syllabus," the captive answered crisply. "Excelled in all arts of war, peerless in bravery; you will eventually realize the strength dyed in madness."
"I see."
"Leading the infantry is the master of the sword whose name any Siddim person knows, Godly Curier. The mercenaries are bundled by a man called Hume Razor. This man also knows war well."
—They are motivated.
The captive seemed to want to say it was a distinguished lineup.
The enemy had indeed saved the popular princess with intention. They intended to launch a counteroffensive using that achievement as capital.
"There is more," the youth had a thin smile, as if thinking he had made Geraha shudder. "Moreover, a name you know well. The son of Urgil Necrat, who had dealings with you, the one-armed knight Yugis Necrat. He knows you well. He is the strategist."
"I have no memory of having dealings with such a person..."
However, Geraha remembered the man called Yugis Necrat. A captive with a strange face called Udoh Renne had spoken of him. He was certainly the man who had stepped on the head of Kushitante, the king of the Tawaru.
Since he was the strategist, that man might have come up with the plan to rescue the princess.
—I should not have left him alive.
Geraha clicked his tongue softly. He thought it was Kushitante's blunder, but it was useless to say so now.
"If you wish to serve me, do not hesitate to apply. I shall prepare gold for you."
Geraha spoke and dismissed the captive.
Because of the rescue of the princess, Siddim's waning will to fight might swell.
He would take measures before that happened.
—Shall I try talking to the other side's representative around here?
If he showed an attitude of seeking peace, the people's will to fight might lose its outlet. If he made it a ceasefire during negotiations, the people could regain a momentary peace. The people would place their hopes in peace negotiations, and they would frown if the Western Army took a bellicose stance.
However, if it was seen that he was struggling to attack Malfa city, it would be counterproductive.
Siddim's will to fight might blaze up.
Geraha did not decide on the spot. However, he thought he should create at least a starting point for negotiations now.
The man he had been waiting for arrived the next day.
Despite having been ordered not to hurry, Mozu Wolf arrived.
At the way his brother had thinned, Geraha's eyes welled with tears.
"You must not, Great King. For someone like me—"
Big Brother Mozu, who was soothing Geraha, was also crying. Geraha felt ashamed of his suspicion that Mozu had become a puppet of the enemy. In any case, he wanted to have celebratory liquor brought and let Big Brother Mozu eat his fill.
"Great King, while I am deeply grateful, there is something I absolutely wish to speak of before the meal."
"What is it?"
"It is about the woman who saved me."
"Woman?"
Big Brother Mozu nodded and began an unbelievable story. It was about Kohal. Geraha knew up to the point that Sinkuk's family had converted to the Roma religion and Kohal had become a nun. However, what followed was unbelievable. Kohal had reportedly received mysterious training from an organization secretly organized by the Roma Church.
With the techniques cultivated in that training, she had achieved a feat that could be called military merit and rescued Mozu.
Geraha looked back and saw Old Man Manam and Old Man Nezumo sitting in the darkness.
"It is a fact that there is a group of only women who act in the shadows for the Roma Church," Old Man Manam guaranteed. "It would not be a mistake to see it as a fact that the woman called Kohal discarded that name and inherited her mother's surname."
"Great King, would you not first meet her? I shall bring her now," Big Brother Mozu said in a soft tone.
"I will not," Geraha said as if bouncing the request back. "I will absolutely not meet her."
"Great King, that is too much. It is not fitting for a Great King."
Geraha crossed his arms like an iron wall.
When it came to this, Geraha became so stubborn that he could not control himself.
"Big Brother Mozu, I do not want you to think simply of it as being from childhood," Geraha lowered his voice. "I cannot say for sure, but you too, in the past, laughed seeing my slightly large body. Everyone did. But you see, even if my appearance was that of a monster, I was nothing, truly nothing but a mere child. I flattered. I squeezed my meager wit to curry favor with everyone. Even if I was not loved by others, for the sole purpose of not being hated, I willingly took on jobs no one else wanted to do. At some point, I spoke with Sinkuk. Sinkuk laughed off my resentment. Saying it was a thing of the past."
—It is not.
Geraha spoke.
"Regarding this matter, my time has stopped at that era. It is not the past. This is because a clear injustice was committed, and it remains uncorrected. I was not wrong in any way. This ugliness was not a sin. It was innate. Despite that, Kohal punished me. Unless this injustice is resolved, I do not intend to move forward."
"Great King, that is not fair," Big Brother Mozu said resonantly. "If the Great King was a child, was Kohal not also a child?"
"There has never been a time when I was not fair. Just recently, I treated Jilkito fairly—"
Suddenly, Geraha had an idea. "That's it. That will do. Tell Kohal I shall send a reward. I shall pair her with Jilkito. I will strip everything from Jilkito. I will have him expelled from his clan, strip his surname, and take his sheep and horses. She may become Jilkito's wife and return to the highlands. A fitting couple has been made."
Big Brother Mozu remained indifferent. Suddenly, he stuck a finger in his ear and began to pick it. After blowing the earwax on his fingertip, Big Brother Mozu bowed his head.
"Perhaps because I was in the dungeon for a long time, strange words occasionally enter these ears."
"That attitude is not pleasant, Big Brother Mozu."
"Very well. Then, for now, I shall withdraw the proposal."
Not for now, but he wanted it never brought up again.
Geraha was about to say so, but he fell silent. The smile Big Brother Mozu wore at that moment looked exactly like Tenge Wolf.
—Brother, what is it now?
Geraha wanted to say. He had become the Great King. There should be no complaints. Geraha had no intention of yielding regarding Kohal.
"Moreover, Big Brother Mozu. Kohal is telling one lie."
"Oh?"
"She says she killed Yugis Necrat, but that man is alive."
Geraha told Mozu about the failure of the siege of the Euryas Convent for Women.
"Kohal—Marvel did not kill him, but merely confirmed his death. However, I see. There may have been a lack of confirmation. More than that, Great King, are you perhaps considering negotiations with the enemy?"
"Hmph. As expected of Big Brother Mozu."
"I would like that popular princess. If a marriage with the Great King proceeds well, a sphere of influence connecting the North, West, and the center of the continent will be completed."
"To let the King of Siddim judge this situation, I am thinking of first sending a demand for surrender, what do you think?"
"I think it is a good idea."
"If it becomes a negotiation, will you do it?"
"It is an honor beyond my deserts. Great King, let us dare to use the Roma Church here," Mozu Wolf said while putting a hand to his chin beard. "I say 'dare' because I do not trust the Roma Church. I want to see their reaction, how they move at this point."
"I leave it to you. You have returned, Big Brother Mozu."
Regardless of Kohal, Geraha was happy to be reunited with Mozu. He was also happy that his thoughts were recognized.
That night, people were gathered in the tent to celebrate Mozu Wolf's return.
However, as he became drunk, Geraha noticed he could not enjoy the feast.
He was thinking gloomily. Why did she do it?
If she became a nun of the Roma Church, it would be natural to work for the church. Moving for Kosa was perhaps to put a layer of help into Geraha's work. But,
—Was she that kind of woman?
It felt wrong. Kohal was a simpler child. A woman who merely followed the laws of the grasslands.
If so, was it to clear the disgrace of her father and mother? If she had worked desperately to obtain forgiveness from Geraha for her clan, it was commendable. It would be mean not to at least listen to her.
—It is not fair.
So Big Brother Mozu said. Geraha had a realization regarding this point as well. While he had tried to judge carefully to the point of delaying Jilkito's punishment, he had rejected Kohal out of hand. This was unfair.
—In other words, I am obsessed.
The memory of that unpleasant beautiful girl occupied a part of his head. Just thinking that made Geraha angry. Geraha had not wanted it. Yet Kohal had entered and settled in Geraha's brain of her own accord, by force. Geraha intended that he had built himself up to this point. However, when he remembered his childhood, everything was ruined. He was tormented by a sense of helplessness.
—I am the one who is obsessed.
The simple feast ended.
As he left, Geraha told Big Brother Mozu that he would meet Kohal.
Mozu Wolf bowed his head. "I thought you would say so."
Geraha headed straight for the small tent he used as his bedroom. He called out to the four guards and brushed aside the curtain.
Beyond the lamplight, a petite woman was prostrate.
Geraha went outside without saying anything and confirmed with the guards. "Did any of you let someone in?"
"No way."
"Absolutely not."
The two guards protecting the entrance shook their heads.
"Move the guards far away. I shall call you if there is a need."
Geraha did not want his conversation with the woman inside to be heard by others.
When he returned to the tent, the woman was still prostrate.
"Did you sneak in? I intended to make time for you tomorrow," Geraha decided in his heart not to be afraid and sat cross-legged before Kohal. "But well, it is a good opportunity. If there is something you wish to say, state it."
Kohal raised her face. It was a beautiful face, unchanged from childhood. She did not seem to have grown much. Because the light was thin and dark, rather than eyes being inside a face, it seemed as if a face existed around the twin pupils.
They were eyes that held a mysterious fragility. They were moist, with a sparkle that seemed to emit holiness.
"Geraha..."
"I am the Great King."
"I want to talk to Geraha. I want to apologize to Geraha."
"I do not accept."
"You are unfair, Geraha."
Kohal's gaze became the sharp look familiar to Geraha.
"Is that so. Then hit me," Geraha mocked. "That is not justice at all, but by doing it, you seem to be satisfied. Being satisfied yourself is what is important, isn't it, Kohal? If you are only capable of tormenting those weaker than yourself, it cannot be helped. Right, Kohal? I am the Great King. If you hit the Great King, will you finally be satisfied? How wonderful, you can swing your fists at the Great King?"
If Kohal approached, he intended to restrain her.
If she had received special training in assassination techniques, perhaps Kohal had a means to kill Geraha. Geraha did not feel as afraid of Kohal as before. However, he should be wary of the Roma Church behind Kohal.
"That is unfair, isn't it," Kohal said.
Apparently, she was crying.
Standing up sluggishly, Kohal crossed her arms and grabbed the hem of her top.
"I am coming there, Geraha. Because I want you to know I hold no weapon, I shall become naked."
"Stop it."
"I will not. —I did not want to be ignored, Geraha. I did not want to be ignored."
"Do not take off your clothes. Do not joke. Other than ignoring and letting it pass, what could I have done?"
"I, for one, what on earth should I have done? You had decided who I was. You decided I was the same as the others."
"The one who decided was you. No, all of you."
"You were ugly. I may have been beautiful. But Geraha, it is just a matter of a single layer of skin, isn't it? I will not say I am the same as you, but I too have been decided. I have been pampered. Or perhaps I could have accepted that decision. But you were there, and every time I saw you, I heard a voice saying it is a lie, it is a lie."
"What do you know of me?"
"I do not. That is why I have thought about it. I like you."
"I do not believe it."
"I like you, Geraha."
In the dimness of the tent, Kohal, who had been removing her clothes, returned into the light. It was as if a white naked body were floating up from the bottom of a pitch-black swamp. It was a lustrous body. How could a single smooth sheet of white skin maintain such a beautiful, lust-provoking shape? There were reflections of light on her round shoulders, her upper arms, and her soft-looking breasts. There were shadows on her plump belly and her gently long thighs. They were legs like those of an elegant herbivorous beast.
Kohal turned her palms toward Geraha and opened her fingers.
It meant she had no weapon.
"Come, Kohal," Geraha said. "I shall snap that neck of yours."
Kohal came. Geraha caught her. Telling himself that she was not Kohal but just a woman's body, Geraha enjoyed her with his hands. With an elasticity accompanied by pleasure, Geraha's large hands felt as if they were numbing. He felt Kohal's tongue on his face. His face was being licked. It was a sweet sensation. Geraha also tasted the woman's body with his tongue. He sucked on the swell of her breasts. No matter how much he licked, it was a sweetness he could not taste to completion. Kohal was petite, like an exquisite doll with a slight fever. She moved as he pleased upon Geraha's lap.
Their breathing grew rough as they sucked each other's mouths. Kohal's hands moved skillfully. Every constriction of Geraha's clothing was loosened and removed by Kohal. Geraha cast off his clothes in frustration. His manhood struck his belly with a thread of fluid. It was not only Geraha; Kohal too, after this point, was afraid of what was about to happen. Seeing her watchful eyes and anxious face, Geraha thought. They were like two children doing things in secret that they could not tell their parents. Seeking pleasure to forget anxiety, and pleasure further seeking the next.
The two embraced and writhed, terrified.
The act of the two, young and physically capable, continued until before dawn.
Even when they reached a state where nothing more could come out, Geraha held Kohal. He did not want to let her go.
Confused by a fulfillment he felt for the first time in his life, Geraha laughed on the bedding. Hearing that, Kohal also laughed.
"It seems something has finally been settled."
"Yes," Kohal said demurely. "I followed you wanting it to become like this."
"You are a lewd woman. You are my first."
"Geraha—"
"Do not go anywhere anymore, Kohal. I shall build a tent for you. However, it will be dangerous if a war breaks out—"
"I will not go, I will not go anywhere."
While they were exchanging kisses passionately, a sign emerged in his crotch.
Thinking he could probably go one more time, Geraha fell asleep.
The real confusion came that day at noon.
Geraha woke up and was surprised. Kohal had vanished, leaving a note.
'I will return after finishing the work I left undone.'
—Work left undone?
Geraha panicked.
He caught Big Brother Mozu and, while blushing, confessed what happened last night.
For a brief moment, a joyful light flashed in Big Brother Mozu's eyes, and then he stroked his chin beard.
"It is likely about Yugis Necrat. Did you speak last night about the fact that Necrat is still alive?"
"I did not speak of such a thing."
"I thought so. In that case, she must have come."
A black woman called Rivet seemed to be obsessing over Kohal.
That woman must have told Kohal about Yugis, Big Brother Mozu said.
"Then, why did Kohal—"
No, she was that kind of woman.
She had pride. If there was a flaw in her work, she would redo it as many times as necessary.
Geraha looked at the horizon in a daze.