Chapter 4: Parting
The next morning, the village women witnessed an odd sight at the daily food trade.
Gon and his followers were tied up in the pillory as criminals in the village square. Hayate’s subordinates stood next to them as guards, watching over them as they explained the reason why Gon’s group was being restrained.
In a little under an hour, the events that had happened the previous night had spread throughout the village.
The story being told went something like this: Gon’s group had tried to go night crawling and attacked Ruri and Sayo. However, Rio immediately noticed their intrusion and paid them back with a fight. As a result, Rio had thoroughly beaten up the ringleader, Gon. Rio left him out in the bone-chilling cold autumn air all night in only his underwear as a punishment.
The villagers had been filled with rage when they heard about the night crawling, but once they saw Gon’s horribly swollen face and shivering body, their anger was quelled by his well-deserved treatment.
And so, last night’s incident became the talk of the village from early morning onward. When Rio went out that morning to trade for ingredients, the villagers praised his achievement with welcoming smiles.
Rio had already reflected on his actions last night and felt rather uncomfortable with their praise, but he did his best to not let that show on the outside, and went about his day as usual. The same went for when he was around Yuba, Ruri, Sayo, and Hayate.
Hayate’s closest aides and subordinates had all gone out on business supervising and interrogating Gon’s gang, leaving only Yuba, Ruri, Rio, Sayo, and Hayate left in the village chief’s house.
Yuba and Hayate were awake already, but Ruri and Sayo hadn’t fallen asleep until very late, so Rio offered to be the one to prepare breakfast, which was why he was out trading ingredients in the morning. Once breakfast was ready and the girls had woken up, everyone gathered in the living room.
“Everyone... I’m sorry for the trouble I caused yesterday. Please accept my deepest apologies,” Rio said to everyone once more.
Last night, Rio had displayed what was truly violent behavior in front of Ruri and Sayo, who were just simple village girls — it wouldn’t have been odd if his carelessness had hurt them enough to cause some kind of trauma. Subjecting others to the sight of his fury also served as a form of violence, after all. That was why Rio wanted to apologize properly and take responsibility for his mistake; he would accept all blame without making excuses.
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. Thank you for protecting Ruri and Sayo.” Yuba shook her head on behalf of everyone, smiling gently at Rio to ease his worries.
Rio was slightly taken aback for a moment, before he frowned. “But, Ruri and Sayo were frightened because of me...”
“You don’t need to worry about Ruri and Sayo. Isn’t that right, you two?” Yuba said, looking at the girls.
“Yup. To be honest, I was a little scared... But then Sayo said Rio was so angry because he wanted to save us so much. We shouldn’t be scared by that. Otherwise, it’d hurt Rio,” Ruri said with an apologetic look and nodded.
“It’s not Sir Rio’s fault! So please, don’t apologize.” Sayo appealed to Rio in earnest, nodding her head furiously.
“Lord Rio, it is exactly as they say. I may be overstepping my boundaries as an outsider, but you do not need to let this bother you. If you had not hit him, I would have done so instead,” Hayate agreed with a shrug.
“...Thank you very much, everyone. But, it is true that my rage blinded me from properly considering my actions... There were better methods I could have used to save you. So please, allow me to apologize.”
Unable to bear his emotions, Rio’s face nearly twisted into a grimace. He grit his teeth and bowed his head instead. Everyone’s warm words seeped into his body, but it wasn’t that easy for him to change his attitude just because the people involved offered their words of forgiveness so easily.
“What an honest boy. Just like a certain someone else,” Yuba said with a huff of laughter.
“A certain someone?” Ruri asked Yuba with a curious look.
“Hmm... More importantly, Rio woke up early to make us this breakfast. We should eat up before it cools. There are still many issues left to deal with, too — I have to summon their village chief here to discuss what to do with those boys, so let’s wrap things up quickly,” Yuba said cheerfully, changing the topic.
Hayate’s attendants were currently assisting them by traveling out to Gon’s village, tasked with bringing the village chief and relatives of the criminals back with them. They would arrive in a day or two to discuss the incident that had occurred.
Everyone gave a strained smile and dug into their food in agreement.
“Sayo! Is Sayo all right?! What about Ruri?!” The front door slammed open, revealing Shin and the other youths.
“B-Brother?!” Their sudden appearance made Sayo widen her eyes in shock.
“Oh my, everyone at once?” Ruri laughed bitterly.
“O-Ooh! Sayo, Ruri! Are you two all right?!” Shin asked in a flurry once he spotted Sayo and Ruri.
“We’re fine, and you’re being noisy. Aren’t you a bit late to come running now?” Yuba said in a tired voice.
“W-We were drinking at the boss’ house until late last night, so we k-kinda... slept in. Then Ume came barging in and told us everything. I-I’m... I’m sorry,” Shin and the others panted as they apologized, their expressions guilty.
“I figured that was the case. Well, rest assured: the incident was a failed attempt. Rio beat Gon to a pulp, and his co-conspirators were apprehended by Lord Hayate. Did you not see them hanging their heads in the square?” Yuba said with an exasperated smile.
“N-No, we ran here as fast as we could...”
“Well, that’s how it is. I can fill you in on the details later, so why don’t you go and give Gon a piece of your mind before you head home? The girls are fine, as you can see.”
“O-Okay...” The boys nodded, retreating dejectedly. Shin, however, remained.
“Mr. Hayate, and... Rio, too. Th... Thank you for saving these two!” he said with gratitude, shooting Rio a somewhat embarrassed glance as he did so. The youths exchanged looks with each other before they all turned back to murmur words of gratitude.
“I did not do anything special — all of the glory should go to Lord Rio.” Hayate shook his head with a quiet laugh. Rio gave a somewhat uncomfortable smile as Ruri and Sayo giggled.
“See you later, then,” Shin said shyly, turning on his heel; the other young men followed him out. Yuba snorted in amusement as she watched their retreating backs.
Later on, when the boys saw the miserable state that Gon and the others in the square were in, they vowed to themselves to never pick a fight with Rio again.
Two days later, the village chief of Gon’s group arrived, led by Hayate’s aides. The party was summoned to the village hall to meet with Yuba; Rio was also sitting in on the meeting alongside Hayate, who was acting as a witness.
“How does your village intend on compensating for this incident?” Yuba asked the village chief — Gon’s father — who sat directly opposite of her.
“We have also been at our wit’s end with these youths in our village. While this particular incident was most inexcusable, I would like to consider it an unlucky accident,” Gon’s father answered vaguely, shaking his head from side to side in an exaggerated way.
“Does that mean you shall bear responsibility for the chaos that Gon has caused? Those boys are primarily your responsibility, correct?”
“That is a separate matter. Our village will not object to whatever form of punishment you choose, but their actions are their own responsibility. They are adults, after all.” Yuba’s pursuit to deem him the responsible party made Gon’s father resort to making excuses.
There were no objections from those behind him, either. They seemed to have accepted giving up on the criminals during their journey here.
“I know your village is struggling to maintain your livelihood as is. I can understand why you would not want to take on anymore unnecessary burdens... However, we have no intentions of backing down without a fight. For now, allow me to inform you of what we aim to do,” Yuba said, before presenting her suggestions on how to deal with the incident.
“First — and this is the only point in which we will not concede — Gon will be handed over to the kingdom for punishment. From what Lord Hayate has told us, he will most likely end up in penal slavery.”
“Indeed, that is justified.” Gon’s father nodded in annoyance. Though his response seemed cruel, Gon’s existence had become that much of a burden to him.
“Next, with regard to the other men who were complicit in assisting Gon... Even if we handed them over to the kingdom, they probably wouldn’t be sentenced to penal slavery. They would either be whipped a few times, or given a short jail sentence, before being released. To be honest, that is not enough to quell our resentment; we wish to receive due compensation. Which brings me to this: we will take a few of the worst in the group and sell them in the capital as contracted slaves, then receive the money from that as compensation,” Yuba explained in a collected manner.
“...While it is true that contracted slaves can fetch a fair amount, I doubt the men will agree. What are the terms of your intended slave contract?” Gon’s father asked doubtfully.
There was one crucial condition to forming a slave contract with someone: the agreement of the one being contracted as the slave. In order to forcibly form a slave contract without the consent of the person in question, either bankruptcy or a debt bond, along with witnesses, were required.
In regards to this situation, Gon’s gang wasn’t burdened with any debt, nor did they have bonds with which to pay any compensation money. No matter how much guilt they had in complying with the crime, it was hard to imagine they would follow through with the procedure of becoming slaves.
“That is where we would like to ask for your cooperation. If you work together with us, then we can promise not to pursue your village for any further responsibility. How does that sound?” Yuba grinned, her eyes fixed on Gon’s father.
“...What am I cooperating with?” Gon’s father cautiously asked in return.
“We want you to tell the boys that you were able to negotiate for everyone, other than Gon, to be pardoned from being handed over to the kingdom... under the condition of paying a compensation fee.”
“...They do not have the savings to pay for such a fee. Even if they return to our village, they will simply be ostracized,” Gon’s father interjected sarcastically.
“Yes, but do listen until the end. I know that they do not have any savings. That is why you are going to tell them that you shouldered the fee for them, then use that as reason to issue a debt bond. Once there is a bond, we can use that as the reason to attach a slavery contract on the group of them. The rest you understand, right?”
“Wha—?!” Gon’s father widened his eyes in shock, expression stiffening. “I-Isn’t that rather underhanded? It’s true that they may agree to slavery that way, but it seems as though we are deceiving them... To go that far is...” he said with a hint of guilty conscience.
The parents of the co-conspirators behind him stirred noisily.
“Hm. I know that night crawling is customary in a village society, but it is only allowed with the consent of both parties. Attempting rape on the other party is a crime on par with robbery and murder, and the accomplices that assisted Gon have to pay their dues. Your children’s stupidity has given my precious granddaughter emotional trauma she’ll have to carry for her entire life. I have no intention of giving in easily.”
“H-Hmm...” Yuba’s furious declaration left Gon’s father at a loss for words.
“If you refuse to cooperate, then I don’t have any other options. We’ll simply return to the beginning of our discussion, and have your village take primary responsibility instead. Oh, and for the time being, we’ve confiscated the trade items that were loaded onto your cargo carriage,” Yuba informed Gon’s father nonchalantly upon seeing his half-hearted response.
“...H-Hah? W-What did you just say?”
“I said, we are holding the trade items that were loaded onto your cargo carriage as collateral for our compensation fee.”
“Y-You must be kidding me! Those items belong to our village... This is tyranny — a robbery! ...Lord Hayate, surely such behavior cannot be tolerated?!” Gon’s father yelled in a panic and pleaded with Hayate, who had been standing to the side and listening.
“...I am sorry, but your village was the one that allowed such wild people to act as your representatives in the trade squad. A great part of the responsibility falls onto you. You may have intended on tactfully banishing them if they caused any issues, but the kingdom is not about to act just because Lady Yuba has confiscated your village’s trade goods,” Hayate said, shaking his head coldly.
“T-That can’t be...” Gon’s father slumped over in despair. The profits gained by selling their trade items were vital in supporting the villagers’ livelihood; without them, the village would suffer greatly.
“That is why I am giving you a choice. You were the ones who raised your children in such a way, no? Either you make those boys take responsibility for their own actions, or you can wipe their asses for them. It is up to you.” Yuba pressed them for a decision mercilessly.
“...All right. We’ll have them take responsibility.” Gon’s father hung his head and agreed after a moment’s hesitation.
After the discussions regarding Gon’s gang had wrapped up, Rio visited the northern hill where his parents’ graves were, all by himself. The sun was beginning to dip down, and the fall scenery before him was stained a madder red. Rio stood before his parents’ graves and gently touched his right hand to the stone pillar.
He reflected on the moment he nearly beat Gon to death. For the three days since the incident, Rio had constantly been looking into his own heart.
At that moment in time, I truly had the intent to kill in me. That intent turned to violence... I was going to kill Gon; I didn’t care about killing another human...
Rio removed his hand from the pillar and stared at both of his palms. It was an emotion that Rio was familiar with... No, he wasn’t simply familiar with it; he had once felt that emotion toward one person in particular.
Malice powerful enough to make him feel nauseous.
Overflowing hatred strong enough to make him go mad.
A pure, pitch-black killing intent... All toward the man who took his mother from him.
Yes, Rio once tried to exact revenge against that man. It was all he thought about, all he wished for as he lived in the hellish environment of the slums.
But... When did that all change?
When did he begin to think of murder as the most primitive wrongdoing humans could commit?
When did he realize that vengeance was not a forgivable motive for murder?
When was he able to shut out the sinister emotions that slept within?
The answer was obvious. It was since the very moment Rio began to harbor the memories of Amakawa Haruto inside of him.
The human named Amakawa Haruto had averted his eyes.
Rio himself hated the man who had murdered his mother, but Amakawa Haruto within him had his hesitations about revenge.
Nothing would come from vengeance, and his mother wouldn’t want him to resort to it. Even if he got his revenge, nothing would be left for him.
Besides, since he had come to hate that way of life, he understood that acts such as taking revenge, killing people, and defiling his hands would make him the same as that man, no matter how much he justified it to himself.
He didn’t want to know or realize that feeling.
He was an egoist — a dirty human just like that man. An arrogant, ugly human, living only as he desired. It was easier to live that way, to lick his wounds and cover up the truth with empty words.
That was why Rio had hesitated to kill anyone, because he believed it was wrong to do so. By restraining himself, he had thought he could become an honest person who didn’t cause any inconveniences for others.
It would have been a wonderful thing, but they were all hollow words. Nothing more than ideals... Ones that didn’t comply with the cruel reality of this world.
Humans were not the same. There were all kinds of people in the world — some were rational, some were self-centered, and each had their own set of morals. That was why humans clashed with each other; when they did, their true character was revealed.
For instance, it would be ideal if a compromise could be reached during those clashes, but that wasn’t always the case. Some humans took advantage of others under the name of compromise in order to pursue their own gains. Some would even purposefully clash with others out of ill will.
Rio had also met and clashed with all kinds of people throughout his life; even so, there hadn’t been anyone Rio could bare his true character toward, until Gon had forcibly exposed Rio’s true character.
He could not turn into a human like the man who killed his mother.
With that thought, Rio had fought to become a rational and honest person... Until he followed his instincts and tried to kill Gon, to dirty his hands. The incident was enough to make him aware of his hypocrisy and naivety.
That was why Rio understood that he wanted to continue being a rational person with strong self-control, an honest person who didn’t inconvenience others. And yet, regardless of his intent and regardless of morals, there were some people he couldn’t forgive by any means.
This was the second time I wanted to kill someone. No... I actually tried to kill him. With these hands, and all of my own will, I tried to kill Gon. Because of that...
Now that he understood, he couldn’t remain his naive self any longer. In this world, those at the top could rest on their laurels, toy with the weak, and gloat in self-satisfaction. Those kinds of people could make a move on Rio and the people precious to Rio at any time.
Sometimes, they would force cruel decisions to be made, which was why it was necessary to prepare oneself for the worst.
I can’t run. And I can’t turn back... So I should start moving forward already. This is a departure from the weakest part of me.
He wouldn’t run anymore. He didn’t want to run anymore. He had to accept the negative side of himself... In order to live. In order to protect others. He wouldn’t begrudge himself for dirtying his hands.
Rio bit down on his lip and swore this to himself, then sneered at himself in a bitter but invigorated way.
I guess I’ll head back to Strahl after a little while longer, he thought to himself.
On this day, Rio changed his former helplessness and bitterness into determination.
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