Neko couldn't comprehend the concept of lifespan or what four or five hundred years meant.
[Neko: "I only know that the sun rises, the moon rises, and if I'm in a bad mood, a nap makes it better."]
[Paimon: "I'm so jealous…"]
[Traveler, teasing: "Paimon's pretty much the same, right?"]
Readers thought about it and realized it was true. Though Paimon claimed to be a guide, she spent most of the journey asking for directions. She was really just traveling alongside the Traveler.
But for the Traveler, that was enough. Having a companion in this foreign world was truly important.
[Neko ignored the Traveler and Paimon, pressing: "So, where's Hibiki?"]
[Inagi Hotomi: "Forgive my bluntness, but if it's Asase Hibiki, I'm afraid she's already…"]
[Traveler, interrupting: "She's not here anymore!"]
[Paimon, quickly chiming in: "Yeah, yeah, Hibiki's probably gone somewhere else."]
[Neko: "…"]
["I see. There's no helping it then. Hibiki's still running around like a little one."]
Inagi Hotomi, of course, didn't expose the Traveler's kind lie.
Lumine casually asked about the other two members of the Narukami retainers.
Inagi Hotomi explained that Mikoshi Nagamasa had always served the Shogunate, upright and honest to an almost obsessive degree.
Kamuna Harunosuke, after returning from Liyue, founded his own school of Onmyouji techniques and shikigami, but later vanished from the public eye.
Turning the page, the story shifted to a manga format.
The scene depicted a red oni attacking Narukami—Mikoshi Chiyo.
Ei's vision darkened. What was this? Lucian, what's going on? How does this connect to the previous section?
Lucian included this scene because it set up the motivations for the characters that followed.
Mikoshi Nagamasa, Mikoshi Chiyo's adopted son, was driven to serve the Shogunate loyally because his mother's attack on Narukami had tarnished the family name.
To restore his family's honor, Mikoshi Nagamasa devoted himself unwaveringly to the Shogunate.
Ei blinked. In truth, she had never blamed the Mikoshi family for Chiyo's attack.
If anyone else had attacked Narukami, it would indeed be a grave crime, making it nearly impossible for their family to serve the Shogunate again without falling into ruin.
But Mikoshi Chiyo's situation was unique, and Ei would never implicate her family.
The manga's background appeared to be Tatarasuna, where Mikoshi Nagamasa became the Inspector of the Narukami Furnace.
(The Inspector, or "Metsuke," acted as the Shogun's eyes, overseeing subordinates, somewhat like the Jinyiwei.)
There, he saved a man named Katsuragi, who later brought a wanderer to the furnace. The wanderer didn't reveal his name, and people called him "Kabukimono."
Kabukimono carried a golden feather bestowed by the Shogun, proving he was neither human nor mere object.
Living among the people at the furnace, Kabukimono learned to wear clothes, comb his hair, use utensils, read and write, cook, and forge alongside others.
With his powers sealed, he acquired the knowledge of a "human."
Time passed, and Mikoshi Nagamasa crafted a great sword, naming it Daitatara Nagamasa!
The name was straightforward—the great sword Nagamasa forged at Tatarasuna.
The people celebrated, and Kabukimono performed a dance in its honor, with everyone at the furnace rejoicing together.
Scaramouche's expression remained indifferent, showing little emotion about this part of his past, at least on the surface.
On the next page, a Fontaine scientist named Escher arrived, bringing new technology that increased the furnace's output.
However, something went wrong with the new technology, causing the furnace to malfunction. Defilement accumulated within, black mist appeared, and many workers were injured or killed.
The person in charge sent for help, but no one returned. Eventually, Kabukimono set out to Narukami Island.
Kabukimono was just an ordinary person with no powers, so the people at the furnace remained despairing, seeing no hope.
Even more despairing was the disappearance of the furnace's overseer during Kabukimono's absence. Had they fled because the situation was hopeless?
Escher told everyone that this was all due to the overseer's negligence, and now the overseer had even fled with their family.
Hearing this, the workers and their families were furious.
With the overseer gone and Kabukimono missing, Mikoshi Nagamasa, as the second-in-command, had to bear the responsibility for this failure.
As the Inspector, the Shogun's eyes, he had failed to watch over them. This was his sin.
Without hesitation, determined not to let the Mikoshi name be further tarnished, he prepared to take his own life with his sword to atone.
But Katsuragi stopped him. Katsuragi had sworn that since Mikoshi Nagamasa saved him, he would serve him, even to the point of dying in his place.
"Where you go, I go. Now is simply the time for me to die in your stead."
Mikoshi Nagamasa refused, but Katsuragi was resolute, insisting on taking all the blame.
In the end, Mikoshi Nagamasa, wielding Daitatara Nagamasa, slew Katsuragi. The scene was drawn from a distance, obscuring Nagamasa's expression.
In the next panel, Mikoshi Nagamasa threw the beloved sword he had crafted into the furnace.
Thereafter, the Daitatara Nagamasa ceased to exist in the world. The sword was renamed Katsuragi Slays Nagamasa.
Yes, it should have been Katsuragi Slays Nagamasa—it was meant to be…
Ei fell silent. She had failed to watch over her friend's descendants, overlooking so much. Sigh.
As the flames roared, readers thought this was the end, but at the final panel, a hand reached out.
The hand, enduring the searing heat, grabbed the sword. Despite being charred by the flames and trembling in pain, it didn't let go.
The scene shifted to a man training with the sword, swinging it skillfully.
This man was Mikoshi Michihiro, Mikoshi Chiyo's legitimate son.
Unlike the adopted son Nagamasa, who sought to clear the family's name, Michihiro had no such intentions.
The adopted son wanted to erase his mother's stain, but the legitimate son believed her actions were an indelible mark. He abandoned his family and chose to live in seclusion.
The two took different paths. At this time, Michihiro met a tengu at Narukami Mountain.
This tengu girl gave him a new name—Iwakura Douin.
Feeling that the Mikoshi name was now a mark of shame, Michihiro willingly discarded it, accepting the new name given by the tengu.
He trained his skills not to clear the family's name but to defeat the tengu Koudai when the crimson cherry blossoms fell.
[Koudai: "If your sword ever touches me, we'll call this secret technique 'Tengu Victory'!"]
Tengu Koudai was the daughter of the previous tengu clan leader and the current clan leader.
The previous tengu leader, due to various events during the calamity, felt they had failed in their duty and chose to retire.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Raiden Ei: About the Mikoshi Brothers
"…Sigh, Michihiro, Nagamasa, I held them when they were young.
Their fates are also my responsibility because of my avoidance."