Chapter 41 - 4-5
The moon of Kandasyata, which had plunged the white-haired maid into sorrow, rose and fell, changing its phase several times, and now the sun had begun to show signs of recovering from its winter malaise.
To the sensitive noses of the Kosa people, the fragrant scent of melting snow was beginning to reach them.
During this period, the Kosa leadership remained carefree.
Now that they had silenced the Byo Empire and no longer had to worry about being stabbed in the back, the Kosa people had no choice but to move forward. Ahead of them lay the Tawaru, a nomadic horse-riding people. It was thought that the Kandasyata Plateau would be shrouded in the dust of war. However, there had only been two or three clashes between the Tawaru and the Kosa; since both were pastoralists, their busy seasons and idle seasons coincided. The decisive battle seemed likely to occur next winter.
—Though, before that.
He wanted to try poking at the southern cities that were allied with the Tawaru, choosing the right moment.
Tenge Wolf thought.
He wanted to scatter the Tawaru before facing the decisive battle. The Kosa had already accumulated various experiences and were no longer the simple nomads they once were. He would devise a strategy.
The Tawaru were strong. If he bullied the allied cities, those people would certainly respond. That meant, in other words, dispersing their troops. An opening would be created.
—And that is where Geraha would strike.
Tenge felt happiness as he thought of such things.
His younger brother, Geraha Wolf, was adorable. So much so that he wanted to hold him and sleep. Geraha when he was obedient to Tenge, and Geraha when he rebelled against Tenge, were equally adorable.
However, recently, it had ceased to be just that.
Geraha had become reliable.
With every battle, Geraha increased his number of subjects.
Tenge writhed. He was so happy he felt like leaping into the air.
What is this, he wondered. It was not that Tenge didn't think about it. It deviated from the affection an older brother directs toward a younger brother. It was likely different from the strong emotions a man holds for a woman.
Faith was the closest thing.
The reason Tenge was obsessed with the man called Geraha Wolf was that there was a conviction and a premonition there. Just as the faith of an outstanding religious figure is unwavering, Tenge's conviction toward Geraha was unwavering.
—This one will become the Great King.
Tenge had known it when he was around eleven years old. When he first encountered his newborn younger brother, he caught a glimpse of the future where the Kosa state would emerge. The flow leading to the establishment of the Kosa state, the strategy, the system, the funds, the communications—what would happen, how it should be done—he sensed everything in an instant. It had been transmitted from the arms holding the infant, who was as heavy as a rock; along with a tremor, knowledge that should only exist in the future had crawled up.
Because too much knowledge flowed into his head at once, that intuition dissipated while Tenge could barely understand it. However, the most important thing was burned into Tenge's mind.
Geraha will create the Kosa state.
The Kosa state already existed within Geraha.
Geraha himself is Kosa. He is us.
And Kosa is the world. Geraha cannot help but involve the world. Soon, soon, the world will dance with Geraha. Geraha carries the world, which is why his body is so large. The world will eventually admit that that ugly face is the correct one. Everything will be flipped upside down.
—I want to see it.
Tenge felt a frustration, like shuffling his feet. He wanted to see the form of the world sleeping within Geraha. The world he had glimpsed only once under that burning red star.
Within Geraha, there was something that awakened mania. An immense stimulus, and a reward.
How could he not be obsessed?
For now, Tenge was the only one dancing with Geraha. There was no need to rush. Eventually, every human in the entire world would dance with Geraha.
No, rather, it was better if it remained only Tenge for now.
Until the world sleeping within Geraha awakened, he wanted no one to interfere.
The secret of his younger brother should be known only to Tenge and that red star.
There was someone nearby who danced a different dance than Tenge.
That was his cousin, Sinkuk.
The partners Shin-ni (T/N: honorific for older brother) danced with were types like the tribal chief Salakesh or the clan leader Zuft Wolf. Tenge thought it was wrong, but apparently, to the eyes of society, it made sense. Sinkuk was an admirable man who served the main line well, while Tenge was thought of as a rule-breaker.
When spring arrived, before the migration from the common lands to the clan's grazing lands began, Tenge visited Salakesh's tent to give his farewell greetings. Clan members with similar purposes were lined up. Tenge was made to wait a little.
"Tenge, eh? You've come."
At the entrance of the tent, he was greeted by the Mukuri chief, Kirikiri.
This old man, who laughed with a "ge-heh-heh," did not return to the land of Mamukuri governed by the Mukuri people, but instead loitered around Sinkuk and Salakesh. Tenge thought he was a foolish old man, but he didn't feel like fighting.
The people of Mukuri had worked bravely in the war against the Byo nation.
"You seem well. I wish to speak with the tribal chief."
When he tried to pass by the side, Kirikiri stood in the way and obstructed Tenge.
"You're acting quite haughty, heh-heh. We should exchange a few more greetings."
All adult Mukuri males had tattoos on their skin. Kirikiri's were extensive. Vine-like patterns climbed up his neck and reached his cheeks. He was a thin, small old man. On his tattooed face, there was a stubbornness like that of a child.
If he was a child, he had to be scolded.
"Out of the way! This is Kutai's tent!" Tenge shouted.
The old man recoiled slightly. He glared back, refusing to lose.
Tenge clenched his fist, intending to strike. He closed in on the old man. This time, Kirikiri's expression showed fear, and he opened the path.
Tenge entered the tent while keeping a glare on the old man.
Shin-ni and his father, Zuft, were looking away as if they had seen nothing. Salakesh was sitting cross-legged with a smile.
Tenge sat before the tribal chief, bowed his head, and pressed his forehead to the rug. In that posture, he spoke his farewell words, then raised his head.
"Tenge."
Salakesh's back was curved, and the position of his face was low. His eyelids were sagging, and his eyes looked sleepy. His long white beard seemed as if it might reach the rug.
"About the war. What will you do?"
Tenge said that he intended to bully the southern cities protected by the Tawaru.
"I see. I see. Who will you take with you?"
"That, of course..."
When he tried to look at Salakesh's face, Tenge noticed for the first time the pitch-black old men. There were three of them. They were melted into the darkness of the tent's corner. He hadn't noticed them. From within the darkness, they were staring at Tenge with strangely glowing eyes.
"Are they guests?"
"Hmm. They are said to be traveling curse-casters."
Providing food and a bed to travelers was the duty of the people of the grasslands.
—Even so.
In appearance, they were old men as wrinkled as tree bark. If it were true that they had traveled, it could be called an amazing level of physical strength.
Tenge returned his gaze to the tribal chief.
"Since you ask who I will take, may I take it as an understanding that you will leave it to me?"
"Hmm."
"That I may command as the general?"
"If you were the general, who would you take?"
"That goes without saying—"
From the dim darkness, piercing gazes were shining. With an air of single-minded devotion, the three old men in black clothes were peering into Tenge's face.
When Tenge looked back in silence, the aged travelers looked away awkwardly.
"I shall decide who to take after I have received the appointment of general."
Tenge stood up and observed the state of Sinkuk and his father, Zuft Wolf. Both were ignoring Tenge, looking in random directions. It was a strange atmosphere.
When he left the tent, he thought he didn't see Kirikiri, but the tattooed old man was outside. His face was warm, a complete change from before.
"Tenge, Tenge."
Likely not wanting the tribal chiefs to know, he called out in a low voice and followed him.
"Ge-heh-heh, Tenge-don, wait a moment. Short-temperedness is no good, zoe."
He was a smooth-talking old man. However, Tenge let out a chuckle. Once you laugh, you lose.
"Kirikiri-dono, is something the matter?" He stopped reluctantly.
"Look at those geezers."
When he looked back, the three old men with tree-bark skin were lined up vertically, looking this way from the tent's entrance.
"Those are sorcerers. Trying to bewitch Salakesh-dono."
"Oh."
"It seemed they were talking about Geraha-dono?"
Hiding the chill that ran through his entire body, Tenge made a gentle face like Kirikiri's.
"About Geraha? What about my younger brother?"
"Well, I couldn't exactly eavesdrop."
"Kirikiri-dono. Compared to Mamukuri, Kandasyata must still be cold. Please be careful not to catch a cold."
With that, he rubbed the old man's shoulder vigorously.
"Geh-heh-heh, Tenge-don should also be sufficiently careful of his surroundings."
"You must come visit my tent once in a while."
"I might do that. If I find out anything about those geezers... ge-he-he-he."
"He-he-he-he."
Though they parted laughing together, Tenge's heart was not at peace.
Sorcerers? Sorcerers talked about Geraha? What on earth did they say?
While thinking about the true nature of the unpleasantness he felt toward the three sorcerers, Tenge rode his horse and returned to his tent.
At the hearth inside the tent, Sinkuk's wife Meira was there along with his wife Hishaku.
They seemed to have been chatting as women do.
Meira was a white person from a distant country. Tenge had been a boy when he first saw Meira. He had been wide-eyed at Meira's beauty.
Perhaps because that impression was burned in, Meira still looked beautiful to him, with a countenance unchanged from the past.
—You are as beautiful as ever.
It would have been good if he could have made such a light remark, but Tenge had just heard the conclusion of Kohal's matter the other day. Kohal, who had been rejected for marriage by Geraha, had reportedly run away from home and entered some religious facility.
Regarding Geraha's marriage,
—It was a failure.
He had to admit it. The princess of the Byo Empire, whom he had counted on, had hanged herself and died. His younger brother must have been hurt.
He couldn't just run away. Tenge sat before Meira.
"I heard about your daughter."
Meira did not show any sign of being bothered.
"No. It was for the best for Kohal. Of course, if it were Geraha-dono, he would have made Kohal happy. But Kohal is like that."
Because that girl is a child. Meira smiled and changed the subject.
"I hear there are strange guests at the tribal chief's place. How was it?"
"Well, guests? Travelers?" Hishaku took an interest.
"Yeah," Tenge said curtly. "Three dark-skinned old men."
"According to my husband, they are very knowledgeable, knowing old things in detail. I also heard they are highly skilled curse-casters."
Tenge shook his head at Meira. "Those are sorcerers. They are nothing good. Shin-ni is a person who doesn't speak ill of others, so he probably just put it in a good light."
When he looked at Hishaku, his wife was fidgeting.
"Even so, I would like to meet them."
"What would you do meeting them?" Unexpectedly, his voice had become cold.
For some reason, Tenge and Hishaku were unable to have children.
Hishaku blamed herself. She believed that she was a barren woman.
Tenge comforted his wife and never pushed the responsibility onto her. If they couldn't have children, then that was fine. He showed that in his usual attitude.
To tell the truth, Tenge craved it. He wanted a boy.
Hishaku wanted a child with an emotion even stronger than Tenge's.
But what cannot be done, cannot be done. Tenge and Hishaku had consulted doctors as a couple and taken medicine. They had clung to charms. No effect appeared.
At some point, they had to give up.
If they didn't give up, they would only hurt themselves. In fact, Hishaku occasionally looked terribly unhappy.
"Those old men are suspicious. Hishaku, you must not meet them."
Hishaku looked down and fell silent.
"Don't meet them, okay?"
When he made her hear it again, she finally nodded.
—I'll have to be careful for a while, or this will be dangerous.
It was the middle of that night.
Meira Boony was waiting for Hishaku.
It was by the banks of the Talsi River. The stars launched across the entire night sky were reflected and swaying on the river's surface. The starry sky of the plateau already felt as if it were within reach. The grains of light were divided between the sky and the river's surface, sandwiching the human world.
—I shall let her meet the sorcerers.
Meira had whispered this to Hishaku during the day.
When she told her the meeting place, Hishaku had nodded resolutely. Despite that, she was late. Had she been found by Tenge? Or did she not trust Meira?
Hishaku should come. Meira had an intuition. She didn't know for what reason she was delayed. However, she would surely come. The immeasurable feeling of this plateau was far too lonely without a child. Though, even if Hishaku came, it wasn't guaranteed that her ability to conceive would be restored. Just as Tenge said, they were fraudulent-smelling geezers.
To Meira, that didn't matter. She just wanted her to come.
While thinking of these futile things, Hishaku arrived.
Hishaku dismounted her horse and tied the reins to a post at the water-drawing place.
The starlight illuminated the smile of the approaching woman.
"Meira."
"Over here."
The feet of the approaching Hishaku stopped.
She must have noticed the three shadows standing behind Meira. They were the traveling curse-casters staying at Salakesh's tent.
One of the curse-casters raised his voice in irritation.
"What are you doing! Get over here already!"
"Hey, Nezumo." Another old man—Persa, if he recalled—soothed him. "Your voice is too loud. Young lady, just come here. It's fine."
Hishaku walked over and knelt before the old men.
"Everyone, I have a request. Please..."
"Who wants to hear your greetings? I already know the circumstances. Just stay in that posture and keep your head down."
The old man called Nezumo slowly placed his palm on the back of Hishaku's head. He then stroked the woman's head around.
"I see, there is a slightly mistaken part. But do not worry. It is not your fault. It is a common occurrence, and I shall cure it for you. Hmm... it will get a bit hot, so do not move your head. There, it's already better."
Nezumo removed his palm.
Hishaku raised her face. Suspicion floated on her expression.
"Is it finished?"
"It's finished. However, there is a warning!"
"Your voice is too loud, Nezumo," Persa said.
"You may have a light headache for a while, but it will subside in a day. Also, for about ten days, that, you know. Be moderate in the bedchamber. The effect will appear after forty days, and thereafter. If your stomach hurts before then, never force yourself and lie down. Woman!"
Suddenly, the old man shouted at Meira.
"If this lady falls ill, you shall take over this person's work. Got it! You must take care of her!"
"Um..." Hishaku stood up.
"Don't say thanks."
"Um..."
"I won't hear thanks. Go! You can return alone, right? Just go already!"
"Thank you very much!"
Hishaku bowed her head to the old men, and further, bowed her head to Meira. She turned on her heel and ran toward her horse.
—Poor thing.
Watching Hishaku run off buoyantly under the night sky, Meira thought.
"Did she become able to bear children?"
"That is absolute," Nezumo said.
"But the magic you cast wasn't just that, was it?"
"I have no obligation to tell you that."
The third old man, who had remained silent until now, spoke.
He was an old man with a gentle tone.
"More than that, I must thank you for bringing Tenge Wolf's wife. What do you want me to do? What do you want to know? I am looking forward to what the Roma Church desires."
This old man had seen through Meira's true identity upon their first meeting.
'Ho-ho, you are from the secret monastery of the Valley of Siddim. Well, if I look at a person's features, I can understand most things.'
Indeed, Meira was a woman acting on the will of the Roma Church.
She did any dirty work that the Church could not do openly. For the sake of faith.
'We are searching for a king. It is certain that he is among the Kosa people, but having actually come to the scene, we could not find him and were quite troubled. However—'
Manam said they had found a man who seemed like a clue.
That was Tenge Wolf.
'I can tell even from a distance. The man called Tenge has been granted something from that red star, Luv-U. How about it, will you cooperate? It wouldn't be a story that brings loss to the Roma Church.'
After thinking it over, Meira taught the old men what she knew about Tenge.
The old men took an interest in Hishaku's infertility. Meira was asked if she could bring her.
'How about it. I believe if we join hands, it will be a great profit.'
While bathed in the pouring starlight, Manam and his companions were laughing.
"I will do anything for you. Now, what do you want to know? What do you want me to do?"
"No," Meira answered cautiously. "I won't say now. Let's keep it as a debt. Besides, you all don't know either, do you? Who the Great King is."
Manam's fake smile vanished, and his eyes narrowed.
Satisfied with that reaction, Meira moved away from the old men. She headed toward the shrub where her horse was tied.
—Those geezers really seem to know nothing.
They seemed to have reached Tenge Wolf, but they didn't know beyond that.
Meira, of course, had an idea of the man chosen by the stars.
Since Tenge was young, he had been trumpeting, "This one will eventually become the Great King."
If the red star Luv-U truly granted something to Tenge, then that giant was likely the future king. However, being that large,
—It seems it would take a bit of extra effort to kill him.
Thinking such things, Meira rode her horse.