Illumi: “Why is a monster like him allowed to teach in the Daigaku?”

Masaki: “Come on, Illumi. Didn’t he just save our lives?”

Illumi: “I am grateful for that, but I am horrified that Overlord Senju has allowed him in our midst. I will tell my parents about this as soon as I get back to Karasuma. They’ll file a petition with the Hyougi elders about this.”

Akako: “Hold your tongue, Illumi! He’s our teacher. And since he is a certified preceptor of Daigaku, the Hyougi must have vetted him. Anyway, warriors live to kill and to die. Isn’t that what the warrior code teaches? Who cares about the number of lives taken? I’m sure all of our parents who have been in the military have killed a few. That is an undeniable truth.”

Illumi: “Hmph! What about him being cursed then? What if he goes berserk and eats our souls?”

Akako: “Stop acting like a baby. Who believes in curses these days?”

Kafu wanted to offer a rebuttal, but Daigo spoke before he could.

Daigo: “Nonsense! Demons and curses don’t exist. Battles are fought with blades and kitsu. In dire situations, you fight with your bare hands. The weak perish, and the strong live on. That’s how the world works.”

After everybody else turned silent, Daigo turned to Shigeo.

Daigo: “I am curious. Where do you think Keiji-sensei’s powers come from? I am outright sure you have a theory. Am I wrong?”

Nadeko: “Yeah, tell us, please!”

Akako: “And don’t drone on about other things. Get to the point quickly!”

Shigeo: “Fine! I do have a theory. Hmm, let’s see. In an appendix to the book, Ginko-sensei mentioned rare humans born during a certain alignment of the stars. These individuals, when awakened, gain passage to a transitional world between ours and Meido.”

Yuuta: “Whoa! Another world?”

Shigeo: “Yes. Mugen-sekai. The world without a beginning or end. It is said that Mugen-sekai brims with kokyu-mugen, the anti-matter. And those cursed with this affliction can achieve incredible feats without kitsu. In fact, kokyu-mugen is far more potent than raiki.”

Chiyo: “That sounds so epic. How does it work? We saw lamias explode as Keiji-sensei touched them. And how did it help him run on water?”

Shigeo: “My knowledge of that is limited. Even the book does not detail the topic. Actually, Ginko sensei himself never met a mugen user. It is rumored that there are, at most, five mugen users alive in the entire continent of Kinheni.”

Akako: “That sounds fascinating. Does that mean Kento can be a mugen user as well?”

Shigeo: “Unfortunately, we have no way to know. Four out of ten children are kitsu-blind. But, mugen users are rare. Perhaps one in a hundred thousand. Then there is the issue of survival. Most of the cursed ones never awaken their abilities. Those who do die at a young age. ‘Mugen is corrosive to the human soul’, writes Ginko-sensei. It is not malleable energy like kitsu. It is a miasma that undoes matter. Imagine what it does to the human soul. Now I have to disclaim that all of this is my speculation. Most of it is based on Ginko-sensei’s work, with some of my research filling the gaps.”

Kafu had a vein throbbing on his forehead. He finally broke character and voiced his opinion.

Kafu: “Ginko was a fool who did not believe in the goddess!”

The priest spoke from his knowledge of history taught to him at the temple. Ogino Ginko had been incarcerated for his skepticism of the goddess Shibai Sharin. He wrote books and preached discourses that the goddess was an imaginary figure, a monogram of the temple. That she was concocted to establish the temple’s authority over the people.

Sadly, Ginko was dragged through the streets, beaten, and then sent to Shibai Sharin temple to be subjected to an exorcism. Priests claimed demons possessed him. The scholar spent his last days in captivity, starving and diseased. In the end, they say he lost his mind. It was reported that he died of the white death. However, nobody could affirm what indeed happened to him.

The group went silent, mulling over the new information. Teenagers, in general, were skeptical of the existence of gods and goddesses. However, they had been instructed since they were old enough to understand words to not speak against the Shibai Sharin. The fear of retribution from Sharin priests was palpable. NO story was as tragic as Ginko’s, though. There were rural legends of how violators disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Shibai Sharin was the center of civilization in Kinheni. Particularly in Karasuma, she was revered and feared. Religion and politics had mixed amicably. Even the Overlord and the other kin-lords paid a weekly visit to the temple.

The forest cover parted, and the canoes entered a creek segment, which expanded on either side to form a vast circular bank.

About half-a-mile onwards, the circle closed to create a linear stream again.

About two dozen floating houses were anchored at the banks, away from the creek current. The settlement served as the home of the Wajin tribe, which was under Karasuma’s governance.

The village-nation’s territory extended to any land touching the three rivers- Reisui, Mizusashi, and Kurosashi. Several other tribes and communities were interspersed throughout the plains and marshes.

The preceptor and sub-squad canoes closed in from both ends.

Yuuki: “It’s late afternoon; the sun will set soon. It is ill-advised to sail in these parts after dark. We will stay as guests here for the night.”

The aspirants expected a night halt, but the location of their temporary sanctuary was entirely unexpected.

The Wajin tribe was not a friendly group. They had frequent tussles with the Kin-Council (the assembly of kin-lords) and the Hyougi (members of the Village High Council). The issues were endless—mining privileges, forest rights, medical aids, and so on.

The tribals had made floating house foundations from hollow logs and had tethered the entire structures to the bank with oiled hemp rope. The larger ones had decks around the houses for clothes-lines.

Children played, and the old rested on lounge chairs. The Wajin people peeked at the outsiders from their windows, open doors, and sun-decks. They wore necklaces made from claws and colorful dresses with headbands made of feathers. Some had painted their faces. It was an unfamiliar experience for someone like Kento, who had been raised under travel restrictions because he was the heir to the Overlord. He had barely seen the outside world.

They drifted towards the largest and most elaborate house. It had a small tower and twenty or more rooms.

Shigeo: “I think the enormous weight of this large establishment is being displaced in the water by a kitsu operation.”

Dahlias and fire lilies grew in vases on the outer deck that surrounded it. Glade vines hung down like streamers from the roof. Children frolicked around and engaged in games. Women and men went about their daily chores. A few aged people rested in the sun on bamboo chairs.

Akako: “Whose house is this?”

Keiji: “Patience. You will figure that out soon.”

A small dock house adjoined the main building. It harbored all the sailing vessels. As the canoes arrived, two men with painted faces dressed in Wajin attire approached and bowed. They proceeded to help them tie up their boats and come onboard the floating house. One of the men pointed to the dock house path which led to the main building. A boy stood at attention on the path.

Wajin Man: “The young master has a message for you from Lord Hakaku.”

Shigeo: “This is Hakaku Yamazaki’s place? The Chief Strategist-Economist of Karasuma?”

Keiji: “Correct. And we are lucky that he has granted us a night’s stay.”

The sailing party approached the boy referred to as ‘the young master’. The boy bowed courteously to the preceptors. He had his face painted- a beeline of black dots, with a white line running down the middle of his face. He seemed to be the same age as Kento and Akako.

Boy: “I welcome you on behalf of Lord Hakaku Yamazaki. He is waiting for you in his reading room.”

Yuuki: “We are grateful. And who might you be, child?”

Boy: “I am Uzziah Yamazaki.”