Chapter 3: Night of Ruin
1
“Yamiru, we’ve brought your husband-to-be,” Diga Suun stated in a low voice while knocking on the house’s door.
The house was rather far on the outskirts of the Suun settlement. I couldn’t tell the precise location as I only had the light from Diga Suun’s candle to go on, but considering the path we took from the ritual hall, it was at the northern extreme and to the west.
I was getting further and further from the far south where Donda Ruu was sleeping, but my body still hadn’t recovered. A good bit of strength had returned to my arms and legs, but my sense of balance remained shaky. I didn’t feel like I could even run in a straight line like this, and besides, Doddo Suun had a firm grip on the nape of my neck and my right arm.
I felt like my heart was collapsing in on itself when I thought of Ai Fa, but I absolutely couldn’t afford to be impatient. If I screwed up now, I could easily end up leading us down the path to ruin.
“Yeah... Yeah, that’s right... It’s fine. It went well...” Diga Suun whispered through the shut door.
Soon enough, his eyes turned back our way.
“Alright, time to meet your fiancée... Go ahead and let her dote on you plenty, you brat.”
I was dragged by Doddo Suun and made to stand in front of the door.
Were they intending on leaving me alone with Yamiru Suun? In that case, maybe I would have a chance.
Yamiru Suun kept a slender dagger hanging from her waist, so if I could steal that and take her hostage... It was a rather violent plan for me, but I had to try to see it through.
As I firmed up my resolve, Diga Suun pulled open the door, and Doddo Suun mercilessly thrust me on through.
When I tumbled into the room, the door shut behind me.
And in that moment, I almost screamed.
“I’ve been awaiting you, Asuta... My apologies for being so rough about all this...” Yamiru Suun’s voice sounded out through the darkness.
However, I remained pressed against the cold wooden floor, unable to respond.
Blood... The smell of blood permeated the whole house.
That repulsive stench was almost physically overpowering as it pierced my nose.
Smell came from particles. And so, those little bits floating in the air were stabbing at the mucus membrane of my nose, which I perceived as this stench.
The smell was so dense that it felt like there was putrid blood pouring down the back of my nose. Absolutely disgusting.
I could feel a gag clearly rising in my throat.
“What’s the matter...? Are you angry because you were dragged away from that woman you care so much about?”
Those words drove a wedge into my consciousness, which had been on the verge of drifting away.
There was no time for me to be slumping against the floor. I still needed to rescue Ai Fa.
And so, I slowly lifted my gaze.
Bloody legs came into view...
Then a bloody waist...
Bloody stomach...
Bloody arms...
Bloody chest...
Bloody neck...
Bloody face.
Yamiru Suun was standing there without so much as a single thread of clothing on her body, completely soaked in blood.
“Wha...” I let slip in a hoarse voice. “What in the world were you doing...?”
“Hehehe... What do you mean? I was just partaking in the blessings of the forest...”
A smile shone from behind her long, blood-soaked hair.
Her face was coated in blood, but she was smiling.
Even her normally chilly dark blue eyes had a wet-looking shine to them.
“What we need is power. Giba meat alone isn’t even close to enough... And so, I was letting the strength of the forest wash over my entire body...”
“So that’s giba blood...?”
My eyes were steadily growing adjusted. The room was in fact lit by a candle, though only just barely. And thanks to that... I was able to see something that I really didn’t want to.
There was the black silhouette of an animal dangling behind Yamiru Suun.
It was a massive giba corpse, hung from a ceiling beam with chains. Was that the one Mida Suun had mentioned earlier today?
“Our ancestors welcomed the forest’s strength into their bodies in this way. That’s how they were able to gain the strength needed to hunt vicious giba...”
Yamiru Suun started walking towards me, and an eerie splishing sound filled the air. The floor was also drenched in giba blood.
In all likelihood, she had slit the giba’s throat and let the blood rain down over her.
The darkness was illuminated dimly by orange flame, and a naked woman stood in front of me, coated in dark red blood... The sight was like something out of a nightmare, causing me to tremble, and yet I still yelled out, “What do you think you’re doing?! Eating raw giba is forbidden here at the forest’s edge, right? But giba blood is every bit as dangerous! When it’s not properly heated first, it can be poison to human beings!”
“That doesn’t matter... This is an essential ritual...”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing! And even if it was done way in the past, I’m sure it was forbidden because of the danger! You need to hurry up and wash that off right away!”
Yamiru stared at me, her eyes looking like she was in a trance.
“Are you telling the Suun clan to fall to ruin? The Suun clan needs strength... And so, won’t you give us yours, too...?”
Yamiru Suun drew closer with a splish, splish.
My whole body quaked with an emotion somewhere between rage and terror, and yet I still stood up and faced Yamiru Suun.
“I just don’t get you! Why... Why is it just the Suun clan that’s like this? The rest of the people of the forest’s edge are so honest and proud... So how did the leading clan alone end up like this?!”
“I believe... That’s surely because the Suun clan took on all of the poison ourselves...” There was some strange shine in Yamiru Suun’s eyes, like she was just barely holding onto her sanity. “By the Suun clan falling deeper and deeper into darkness, the rest of our people who know nothing of that are able to live even more pure and brilliant lives... I’m certain that the Suun have protected the people of the forest’s edge in that way...”
“I don’t get it! Why can’t you all just live proudly and honestly like everyone else?!”
“That’s just not possible...” Yamiru Suun replied, a different light now gleaming in her eyes. “We can no longer turn back... The day of ruin is drawing ever closer... It’s not possible to keep deceiving the clans under us...”
“Deceiving them...?”
“You’ve already realized, haven’t you? Or are you dim-witted enough to not have noticed, even after manning the Suun clan stove...?”
Suddenly, I was at a loss for words.
In that case... That was it after all, huh? I guess my suspicions had hit the mark.
“I’ve had enough... If we’re already facing ruin, then I figured I may as well cling to one final hope... If you’re with us, the Suun clan can be saved. You can earn so many coins in a day that with you, the Suun clan wouldn’t have to be destroyed...”
“That... That doesn’t make any sense! You would be fine even without relying on me just by hunting giba like normal, right?! Then you could live ordinary lives! That’s how everyone else lives, so I don’t understand why you can’t!”
“If I were the head of the Suun clan, perhaps I would have chosen that path...” Yamiru Suun’s lips were raised in the shape of a half-moon. And yet, her face made it look as if she was crying, with dark red blood for tears. “But that doesn’t matter now... The previous clan head Zattsu was a fool, and the current clan head Zuuro is even more of one... My brother Diga is next in line, and he’s the greatest fool of all... There’s no hope of salvation left within the Suun clan...”
“But...!”
“You’re the only one left who can save us.”
Yamiru Suun came up right next to me. Between the unbearable stench of blood and the smile twisted through an almost palpable despair, I could feel my heart freeze over.
“Will you become my husband and save the Suun clan...? Or if you can’t stand the idea, fall to ruin alongside us...?”
Her bloody fingers slowly reached out.
Just before they touched my cheek, I replied, “I refuse,” with a shake of my head. “I won’t accept either of those options. If you all want to be saved, then I’ll lend you my power as a member of the Fa clan. But I can’t join the Suun.”
“I see...” Yamiru Suun’s fingers slipped past me and hit the door. “So you won’t save us...”
“No, I’m telling you, if you really are hoping to be saved, then there are better ways to—”
“How unfortunate.”
Yamiru Suun loudly wrenched the door open. In that same instant, the nape of my neck was grabbed from behind and I was pulled to the ground.
“How truly unfortunate...”
Yamiru Suun was now disappearing behind the door. The last thing I saw was her bloody face making an expression like that of a small, crying child.
“I’ve been waiting for this. So you chose to become mundt feed like I hoped, huh?” Doddo Suun questioned, his voice cracking with mad joy.
I hurriedly rose to my feet. However, I staggered and ended up having to place my hand against the door. Apparently, I was still feeling a bit of the effect of the melemele leaves.
“If that’s the path you’ve chosen, then that hunter woman will be sharing your fate. Once Diga’s done with her, we’ll throw you down into the valley together.”
My gaze raced about in shock.
It wasn’t Diga Suun standing next to Doddo Suun and holding a candle, but rather Tei Suun.
“Where did Diga Suun go...?!” I yelled, my rage unconsciously boiling up.
Doddo Suun’s face twisted into a smile that reminded me of a lion-dog statue.
“He should be right in the middle of having some fun by now. I don’t know what’s so good about a woman with beastly eyes like her, though.”
“You bastards...” My vision was going deep red with rage. My body felt like it was about to explode. “Just how completely rotten can you be...?” Those words slipped out of my mouth without me even thinking.
The smile disappeared from Doddo Suun’s face and he reached for the blade at his hip.
“What’s with those eyes...? Do you want me to cut you down here and now?”
“Go ahead and do it already if you’ve got the guts!”
I removed my hand from the door.
My heart was pounding in my chest like an alarm.
The veins across my head felt like they were about to burst.
This... This was the first time I felt this strong of a hatred for someone.
If Diga Suun really had laid a hand on Ai Fa... I had no idea how far I may go.
“Move... Get out of my way!”
Doddo Suun shrunk away.
Then, his hand gripped his sword’s handle, and he drew it from its leather sheath. But not a heartbeat later, a shadow came bolting out of the darkness.
I had no idea what was going on.
However, I did see Doddo Suun fly several meters through the air and then tumble across the ground, and Tei Suun grab hold of his still-sheathed blade.
“Stop right there. If I’m up against you, then I won’t be able to hold back.”
It was the familiar voice of a young man.
He was smaller than me, and gripping a long pole as he faced off with Tei Suun.
“I’d prefer it if nobody ended up dead. My dad gave me a pretty strict warning about that.”
“L-Ludo Ruu?!”
Even only seeing him from behind, there was no mistaking him.
The yellowish-brown haired youth shrugged his shoulders a bit while still holding the grigee pole at the ready.
“Sorry, Asuta. I was told I couldn’t lend a hand no matter what until the Suun clan broke a big enough taboo that they couldn’t just talk their way out of it. I was finally able to come out of hiding thanks to that idiot drawing his blade.”
“Why... Why are you here, Ludo Ruu?”
“It was my dad’s orders. He told me to stay up through the night and keep an eye on the Suun settlement. I probably would’ve died of boredom if they hadn’t done anything.”
“Ludo Ruu, you should save the idle chatter for later,” another shadow chimed in, appearing from behind Tei Suun.
He was about as small and skinny as Ludo Ruu, but had blackish-brown hair... It was Shin Ruu, the young head of one of the branch families.
“Man of the Suun, stop it with the pointless resistance. You won’t be able to drive the two of us away on your own,” Shin Ruu stated, also brandishing a long pole. It was probably grigee, too. They both had blades hanging from their hips, but they made no signs of drawing them.
“W-What are you doing, Tei Suun?! Hurry up and slaughter them!” Doddo Suun wailed in confusion from down on the ground.
Tei Suun’s emotionless eyes glanced over that way.
“Is that an order as a member of the main house, Doddo Suun?”
“Just shut up and do it!”
Tei Suun gently placed the candlestick at his feet.
When he grabbed his blade’s sheath, Ludo Ruu raised his voice and said, “Hey! Cut it out. You seem like you’re crazy strong, so I’m not confident we could make it through without killing you, even with the two of us.”
“Then go ahead and kill me...”
With his gaze still looking muddy, Tei Suun pointed his drawn blade towards their eyes.
“Tch. My dad’s going to be so mad about this,” Ludo Ruu muttered, not sounding worried in the least.
The boy tossed aside his grigee pole and grabbed the hatchet hanging from his waist. It was that tough-looking one that he had bought in the post town.
However, he left it in its leather sheath as it dangled in his right hand.
“You idiots... You will all be mundt food!” Doddo Suun loudly wailed, charging toward Ludo Ruu with his sword.
Tei Suun brandished his blade at the same time.
This looked bad, and I half-subconsciously took a step forward. Then, with all my might, I rammed into Doddo Suun’s back with a shoulder tackle.
It probably wouldn’t have even wobbled a normal man in the least. However, Doddo Suun was drunk. Plus, it seemed like he may have taken a good bit of damage from Ludo Ruu’s blow.
At any rate, my tackle managed to throw off Doddo Suun’s balance and send the two of us tumbling to the ground in a tangle.
“Damn it!” Doddo Suun cursed as he tried to get back up.
Seeing that, I bit into the back of the hand holding Doddo Suun’s sword as hard as I could.
“Gyagh!” he yelped, kicking me in the stomach. That blow landed hard and made me tumble backwards. “Dammit! I’ll kill you! You’re dead, you damn foreigner!”
Doddo Suun leapt to his feet, cradling his bleeding right hand.
And suddenly, a towering shadow rose up behind him.
“What do you think you’re doing...?” a deep voice questioned, trembling with rage.
Doddo Suun turned around, looking aghast.
In that instant, a massive palm smashed into his face and sent him flying.
That put an end to things.
Doddo Suun flew multiple times further through the air than before, rolled along the ground, and then finally came to a stop upon crashing into the wall of Yamiru Suun’s house.
“Asuta! Are you alright?!”
That shadow rushed over and grabbed me far more nimbly than you would expect from its massive size.
The candle giving off light was far away, but there was no mistaking such a unique silhouette. That man who picked me up gently and had such a panicked look on his face that it seemed like he was about to cry was, of course, Dan Rutim.
“Dan Rutim... Why are you here, too...?” I squeezed out while cradling my aching stomach. Well, at least Dan Rutim looked relieved.
“That’s my line! I heard some sort of commotion going on and came to check it out, and then... Seriously, don’t worry me like that, Asuta! What in the world are you doing in a place like this?”
“Ah, no... Help Ludo and Shin Ruu first...”
“Hmm?” Dan Rutim questioned and looked around. His face shifted back to that of a raging genie. “So there was one more idiot left, huh?! Man of the Suun clan, if you’re going to point your blade towards members of the Ruu clan, then I’ll take you on!”
It had only been a short while, but who knows how much fierce fighting had occurred in the meantime. Ludo Ruu and Tei Suun were both bleeding from their heads, while Shin Ruu’s grigee pole had been broken and he was now down on his knees and clutching his chest.
“Clan head of the Rutim... I received no order to kill you,” Tei Suun stated, lowering his sword. Then, his eyes like rotten fish listlessly turned towards Ludo Ruu. “However, you should not come any closer. If you do, I’ll have to cut you down.”
“What the heck? I just don’t get you, old-timer.” Ludo Ruu wiped away the blood dripping down onto his face with the back of his hand, and then stepped back just a bit. “Dan Rutim! You do something about this, then! At this rate, I’ll end up having to draw my blade, too!”
“Hrmm?” Dan Rutim replied, then practically pulled me along as he approached Ludo Ruu. After entrusting me to the youth, he stood to face Tei Suun. “Just what are you going to do, then? If you feel like sheathing your blade, then hurry up and do it.”
“I am unable to do such a thing of my own will. I was ordered to cut down these two youths.”
“I see,” Dan Rutim answered, then he kicked Tei Suun in the stomach.
Tei Suun dropped his sword, and silently collapsed to the ground.
“I really don’t get you. Aren’t there any normal folks in the Suun clan?” Dan Rutim muttered with a sour expression.
After shooting a glance his way, I turned and grabbed Ludo Ruu.
“Ludo Ruu! What about Ai Fa?! Was there someone else who went after her?!”
“Huh? No, it was just me and Shin Ruu on watch. There wasn’t anyone left to handle Ai Fa.”
“What?! Why?!”
“I mean, you seemed like you were in more danger. And we couldn’t draw our blades, so it’d be pretty rough taking on the two of them alone,” Ludo Ruu responded with a pout.
“I see. Sorry. I really am grateful that you saved me... But now, could you help me look for Ai Fa?!”
“What’s all this fuss about? Did something happen to Ai Fa?” Dan Rutim chimed in.
“Ai Fa got taken to Diga Suun’s house! If we don’t find her quickly, then...!”
The pain in my heart was far greater than that of my kicked stomach. I felt so shaken that it was almost like I was about to stop breathing.
Ludo Ruu stared at my panicked face from the side.
“Ai Fa will be just fine, right? Even if she was kind of sleepy, there’s no way that eldest son of the Suun could get the better of her.”
“No, but those Suun bastards burned some sort of strange herb and put everyone in the ritual hall deep asleep. As long as that’s still acting on her, she’s in danger!”
Even the time I was using to explain that was precious. However, Ludo Ruu still looked confused.
“Ah, it looked like they were doing something while creeping around with their candlestick. So that was it, huh? But you and Dan Rutim are doing just fine, right? So Ai Fa should be alright, too.”
“Hmm... I noticed a strange smell while I was asleep and crawled out of the ritual hall in a hurry. I must have crushed a good number of folks along the way, but nobody seemed to wake up.”
So Dan Rutim escaped thanks to his excellent sense of smell too, huh?
That certainly was lucky, but still... For now, Ai Fa came first.
“Please, help me out! She must be somewhere here in the settlement!”
“Hmm. In that case, I guess we should just go around smashing down each and every door...” Dan Rutim started to say, but then his eyes suddenly caught sight of something. “Who’s there?!”
A far off voice feebly yelped out an “Eek!”
“Stop! You’re not getting away!”
Dan Rutim suddenly disappeared. With a grunt, he took off running in the opposite direction of Yamiru Suun’s house. He really was shockingly quick. He had to weigh over 100 kilos considering his build, yet his form was beautiful enough to be fitting of a first-rate sprinter.
That reliable yet humorous sight disappeared into the darkness, and before long, a shriek of “Gyah!” rang out. “Let me go! I didn’t do anything! I just thought it was noisy, so I came to look!”
It was a shrill, hysterical voice from a young girl. In other words, it had come from the youngest daughter of the main Suun house, Tsuvai Suun.
Her tiny body soon came into view, held under Dan Rutim’s massive arm.
“Tsuvai Suun! Where is Diga Suun’s house?!”
Tsuvai Suun shot me an annoyed-looking glare. Then, she glanced over at the motionless Doddo and Tei Suun.
“I don’t really get what’s going on... But the Suun clan may just be done for, huh?”
“Hey, Tsuvai Suun...!”
“Don’t glare at me with those scary eyes. I really had nothing to do with it,” Tsuvai Suun replied, breaking out in a pout. “Diga’s house is on the other side of the main house, right nearby.”
“Alright! Let’s get going, Asuta!”
Dan Rutim took off running, still holding onto Tsuvai Suun. After picking up the candle by my feet, I followed after him as quick as I could.
“Shin Ruu! You tie these guys up! And don’t let the woman in that house escape, alright?” Ludo Ruu called out, then came up beside us. “It’ll be alright, Asuta. Ai Fa is a hunter. Those fools of the Suun clan have forgotten their pride as hunters, so there’s no way any of them could get the better of her.”
Just how much happier would I feel if I could truly believe his words?
Ai Fa... I’m begging you, please be okay...!
This was probably the first time in my life I had ever faced such deep, overwhelming despair. It wasn’t this bad even back when I leapt into the flames back in my old world.
My heart was aching.
My knees felt like they would give out on me.
Ai Fa...
I don’t care if it’s a god or a devil who does it, but please protect Ai Fa.
That was a once-in-a-lifetime request.
It doesn’t matter one bit how I end up. Without Ai Fa, I couldn’t go on.
If something really bad happens to her, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
“That’s the house.”
A wooden house identical to the others around it came into view out of the darkness.
Dan Rutim was at the lead, running straight to the door and kicking it, giving off a dull thud.
“Hmph! That’s a tough one!”
Dan Rutim thrust his leg out again, and this time both the door and bolt went flying.
“Ai Fa!”
I slipped past Dan Rutim’s large frame and flew inside. There wasn’t anyone in the main hall. However, one of the doors along the inner wall was half open, and a bit of light was leaking out.
“Hey! Don’t go recklessly rushing ahead!” Ludo Ruu yelled out from behind, but I took off running even so.
I threw open the door, stepped inside... and tumbled.
“Wah!”
There was something lying limply sideways right inside the room. I had caught my foot on it and taken a fall.
The candle I was holding also hit the floor and started to scorch the fur rug.
“Ai Fa...!”
Ai Fa was there. Both her arms and legs were bound, and her body was curled up like a fetus.
She was atop bedding spread out farther into the room, lying listlessly on her side.
“Ai Fa...”
I reached out for her shoulder.
Suddenly, her hands lashed out and hit my chest with an incredible amount of force, despite being bound by a leather strap. An inferno full of rage was blazing in her blue eyes, but it instantly subsided.
“Asuta... You’re okay...?”
“Wah!”
She pulled incredibly hard at my chest, causing me to fall on top of her. Her smooth cheek rubbed up against mine.
“I was so worried... I’m just glad you’re alright...”
“That’s my line...”
I breathed a sigh of relief that I felt with all my heart.
In the end, I had been saved. I didn’t lose Ai Fa, didn’t come to hate this world, and didn’t have to curse myself for being so careless.
I didn’t end up losing my heart and soul.
While sending my thanks to every last deity that may exist in this world, I hugged Ai Fa tight.
“See, she’s totally fine, right?” Ludo Ruu proudly gloated as he approached. “This is the eldest son of the Suun, yeah? He sure looks good and knocked out.”
I turned and looked that way while lowering Ai Fa back onto the bedding.
Sure enough, it was Diga Suun that I had tripped over. That despicable eldest Suun son was sprawled out on his back by the entrance to the room.
“You did that, right, Ai Fa? It sure is impressive that you fought back with your arms and legs bound, though.”
“As if the Suun clan would ever get the better of me, regardless of what disadvantages I may have... I slammed my elbow into his face and then kicked him till he went down...” Ai Fa muttered, still seeming half out of it. This time, she pressed her forehead up against my cheek.
Just as I started to feel a bit embarrassed, I caught a whiff of a very familiar sweet smell.
It was the aroma of fruit wine. And it was quite clearly hanging around Ai Fa.
“Don’t move, alright, Ai Fa?” Ludo Ruu said, drawing the knife from his waist and then slicing through Ai Fa’s bindings.
The instant her arms were free, she flung them around my neck.
“Thank goodness... I’m so very, very glad you’re alright, Asuta...”
“R-Right, me too... Are you alright, though, Ai Fa? You still seem a bit out of it.”
Ludo Ruu and Dan Rutim, who was still standing in the door to the room, stared at us with clear confusion on their faces. Ai Fa didn’t notice at all, but she soon finally brought her face away from mine and asked, “What do you mean?” with a tilt of her head.
Her eyes were droopy enough at the moment to remind me of Vina Ruu. And her slightly pouting pink lips looked incredibly sexy. On top of that, I noticed her cheeks looked ever so slightly flushed.
“Were you forced to drink wine or something...?”
“Hmm? Now that you mention it, I get the feeling something was poured into my mouth while I was sleeping... And then, I woke up...”
“I see. And then as soon as you were up, you beat down Diga Suun.”
It must have been that Ai Fa was still asleep, so he had her drink some wine to rouse her. But fittingly for what a fool he was, that resulted in his defeat.
Or at least that’s what I thought, but Ai Fa replied, “No...” with a shake of her head. “It was later that the eldest son of the Suun arrived... That fool showed up as I was in a daze after having been given something to drink and awakening... wondering what I was doing in such a place with my limbs bound...” Ai Fa clung to my neck again. “At any rate, I’m just glad you’re alright... I told you never to leave my side, didn’t I...?”
“Y-Yeah, sorry. But yeah, it’s just good that we’re both fine.”
As I experienced this unusual sort of closeness with Ai Fa, I swiftly glanced around my surroundings.
Sure enough, there wasn’t a fruit wine container lying anywhere. That meant some third party other than Diga Suun had saved Ai Fa from danger.
Could it have been Kamyua Yoshu?
That guy’s aloof face was the first thing that came to mind.
However, that didn’t feel quite right, somehow. I mean, would he seriously do such a halfhearted job? No, I got the feeling that if he was saving her he would go all the way and at least unbind her limbs. But fortunately, Ai Fa’s hands were bound in front of her, allowing her to properly defend herself. Still, considering whoever had done it hadn’t even waited to make sure Ai Fa was awake, they had pretty much left it up to fate... yet they hadn’t just stayed as a mere spectator.
Then could it have been...
Tei Suun...?
He was the one who was supposed to have bound Ai Fa. So if someone bound her hands in front and granted her more movement, it would have to be him.
He had said he couldn’t defy the main house, and yet that man with his listless eyes dropped his blade in no time at all when faced with Dan Rutim...
Did he leave Ai Fa with a chance of resisting...?
“Well then, shall we get going, Asuta?” Dan Rutim called out while stroking his dark brown beard.
“Get going...? Where to?”
“To Donda Ruu, of course. And then after that, I’d assume to the leader of our people,” he replied with a big grin. “Look at how many taboos they’ve gone and broken in just a single night. No matter how much our dear leader bows his head, he won’t be able to wipe away these fools’ crimes. This may even be the final day for the Suun clan.”
“That may be so...”
The Suun clan had taken a big risk, fighting with their backs against the wall, and they had lost.
However... why had they gone with such a foolish gamble, and on this day of all the ones they could have chosen? Why had they been so reckless in trying to capture me and Ai Fa? It had just taken a bit of an open seam to peck at to bring the whole thing down, so why go with such a rash plan?
And in the first place, just whose idea had it been to begin with?
Had Zuuro Suun ordered it? Or was it just Diga and Doddo Suun running wild on their own?
There was way too much that I didn’t know.
But at any rate, things absolutely needed to be settled.
“...Let’s go,” I stated, and moved to stand. However, Ai Fa wasn’t letting go of me. “Hey, Ai Fa, we’re going. Can you walk on your own?”
“Hmm? No, don’t leave my side...” she replied, her smooth arms hugging me even tighter.
Ludo Ruu and Dan Rutim’s eyes went wide.
“No, um, you’ve got it all wrong. I think she’s just a bit drunk because she was made to drink fruit wine after also inhaling the smoke from that strange herb,” I hurriedly tried to explain, but their expressions didn’t shift in the least.
Then, Dan Rutim turned towards Ludo Ruu.
“Ludo Ruu, I have a proposal...”
“Hmm? What is it, all of a sudden?”
“The Fa clan doesn’t fall under the Ruu, but they are friends to the Rutim. When Asuta and Ai Fa get married, can we borrow the Ruu’s plaza for the banquet and all come celebrate?”
“Yeah, I don’t see why not. Just make it so that only those who want to celebrate have to come.”
“No, seriously, you’ve got it all wrong!” I yelled out, despite getting the feeling that it wasn’t convincing in the least.
As I wailed, the thought of, But will we really be able to bring this all to a close? vaguely came to mind.
It all just felt way too sudden.
Would all of our planning and brainstorming from before turn out to be for nothing, as the Suun cut off the path to mutual understanding and destroyed themselves?
A number of ominous statements swirled through my head.
“Or if you can’t stand the idea, fall to ruin alongside us...?” Yamiru Suun had said.
“Then go ahead and kill me...” Tei Suun had stated.
Could it be... Did a portion of those within the Suun clan wish for its destruction more strongly than anyone?
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