[Part 3/4]
"Yes?"
"I appreciate that you saved me. The problem now is... it's too late to turn back."
Considering my objective, returning Hisame to the checkpoint wouldn't make sense. My goal was to recover the thing requested by the imperial court.
"It's a journey to a forbidden area without exorcists. It's dangerous. Are you prepared?"
"I'll... I'll do my best!"
"No, I didn't mean..."
I wasn't discussing effort... Hisame's somewhat absent-minded response made me lose a bit of hope, but I quickly refocused, realizing that we were in a first-rate, if not special, danger zone.
"Do you have the medicine, and equipment?"
"Yes. I have everything I need on me."
Hisame replied as she touched her waist bag. She hadn't been disarmed by the guards, which meant she was prepared from the beginning. In that case... there was nothing more to say.
"I'll go ahead. You'll be responsible for flank and rear guard. Enhance your physical abilities and run. Follow the bloodstains!"
"Understood...!"
I nodded in response to Hisame's tense yet clear answer. Then, I glanced at the nearby corpse... I'm sorry. I'll recover it later. Please endure a bit longer.
"Let's go..."
I sprinted toward the depths of the deep, deep forest. Hisame followed behind. At this point, we couldn't even imagine what awaited us ahead. But...
"You b*stards!! Why the hell isn't she coming...!!"
What swirled in my heart was an irritation bordering on resentment, directed at the fact that the princess hadn't shown the slightest reaction to this situation...
"...?"
While waving her fan, the young princess wore a puzzled expression. She felt something was amiss. Was it a premonition? A sixth sense? In any case, something unusual seemed to be happening in the distance...?
"Ah! Aaaah!"
"Huh!?"
It was a momentary lapse in concentration that led to this mistake. Dozens of monsters vanished in an instant with a sweep of her fan. However, one of them, fortunately surviving with half its body missing, closed in. Bug-like youkai had a peculiar trait of having strong vitality, unlike other youkai.
"Get lost!"
With annoyance, Aoi struck the insect with her fan. The bug-like youkai, the size of a large dog, turned into dust due to the spiritual power enveloping the fan, or rather, it should have.
"You're disgusting, you monster...!!"
She cursed them with contempt. The young princess looked around. There were no more monsters following. It was the end.
Although it was only temporary...
"Haah, haah... Too bad, too bad. That was unfortunate."
From the ox cart, which had been positioned for a clear view and all-around vigilance and counterattacks, she now sat down, knees folded, and took a deep breath. Her attire, layered heavily due to the summer heat, was soaked with sweat. The mocking words she proclaimed were a facade to cover her failure.
"My throat... feels dry..."
"Princess, are you all right?"
"Huh...!?"
Lost in thought, she was suddenly taken aback by the words of a laborer who had come near the ox cart. Was she so absent-minded? She hadn't even noticed their presence until they called out.
"...Prepare some cold tea quickly."
"Yes, of course!!"
She ordered with surprise concealed, and the laborer respectfully bowed before stepping away. For now, she needed to quench her thirst and ward off dizziness and headaches caused by fatigue.
How many youkai had she slaughtered over the past half-day? A thousand or two thousand weren't nearly enough. Had she gotten too carried away? Even her senses had dulled slightly, as evidenced by the laborer's earlier call. Training had been fine up to this point, but was it different in actual combat?
"It's rather pathetic..."
"Princess, your expression is not befitting... Would you like to rest?"
"No need. Just get the tea quickly."
"Understood. Right away!"
Rejecting the lady-in-waiting's suggestion, she urged for tea again. Finally, cold tea was presented to her by the laborer.
"It's nicely chilled... I'll praise you for this."
She received the teacup as if snatching it and gulped it down vigorously. She realized it was rather uncouth, but more than anything, she desperately needed this cold drink.
Perhaps due to the summer heat, she had to fend off dizziness and headaches. This drink was essential. By now, the unease she had felt earlier had completely disappeared from her mind. She was completely focused on the task at hand.
According to the playwright who wrote this act's script...
...
...
...
She had learned about the structure of the "Doku Noroi Fuka Hayashi" and remembered it. This forested area, surrounded by steep mountains, covered an area that could swallow up half a county if not an entire county. Such a vast deep forest area could be roughly divided into three parts.
The division was made by exorcists who were once ordered to subdue this forbidden area and the accompanying recorder. It was due to the harsh conditions and the vastness of the boundary, which was about three times the size of a county.
The outermost area, where one could step in from the four checkpoints, was called the "Hito Maji Forest" or "Human Exchange Forest." This region, which served as the boundary between the imperial court and youkai forces, was characterized by periodic thinning and being far from the central ley line. Therefore, it had a relatively low population of low-level youkai who had lost in the competition for survival in the deeper areas. Of course, a mere human wouldn't last a day here.
The boundary area between the central region and the outer region was called the "Suzuji Mukuri Forest" or "Whispering Rustle Forest." According to records, this deep forest had a much higher population of simple youkai than the remaining two areas. Consequently, it was noted for intense competition for survival and many cunning traps are set here.
The third and furthest region, the "Genjo Forest," where numerous great youkai and even some individuals that might reach calamity youkai levels have been observed, was an extremely perilous zone. It was so dangerous that multiple exorcists dispatched there at the time would become sacrifices before reaching it. Among the three deep forests, it was estimated to have the fewest youkai in terms of population, but it occupied nearly half of the entire deep forest area. This implied that the territorial dominance of each individual was quite extensive.
The imperial court had been extracting most of the resources from the "Doku Noroi Fuka Forest" from the initial "Hito Maji Forest" or "Human Exchange Forest." It was not just because it was the safest but for other reasons as well.
The deeper regions were simply too dangerous. As mentioned earlier, during the previous subjugation of this deep forest, several exorcists had become sacrifices. Moreover, the safe zones created for resource extraction and rest through boundaries, which were established in response to the prohibition of entry and withdrawal, were not easily accessible in the deeper regions.
With frequent casualties occurring in the deeper regions, especially as smaller exorcist families with limited manpower started emerging, there was a need to alleviate this burden.
Finally, the imperial court accepted the advice of the Minister of the Left at the time. Resource extraction from the "Genjo Forest" had been frozen 300 years ago, and from the "Suzuji Mukuri Hayashi" or "Whispering Rustle Forest," it had been halted 160 years ago. The reduction in casualties among exorcist families was significant, but the production of several special elixirs and curse tools became difficult. This was one of the factors contributing to the decline of exorcist families like the Yakushiji family.
...Deep within the forbidden deep forest, many areas where spiritual herbs grew naturally had been left untouched, protected by boundaries for an extended period.
"Here."
After entering the "Suzuji Mukuri Forest" for about two hours, the young princess, who had turned more than a thousand youkai into dust with her cherry-colored fan, murmured softly. Despite her composure, signs of exhaustion were visible. Before her stood an old stone statue covered in moss, serving as a marker for the safe zone... Fortunately, it seemed that the boundary was still functioning.
"...Proceed."
Following the princess's command, the group crossed the boundary of the barrier. Except for the Hidden Group, who had left earlier, the intact group moved forward effortlessly. Along the way, several middle-ranked youkai jumped out of the bushes but were instantly reduced to shreds by a gust of wind.
They crossed the boundary. What lay ahead was an endlessly peaceful grassy plain. The air had a sweet fragrance. This was...
"Amao ne (Licorice)."
Aoi identified the scent. She had already learned about this place. This was the land where a special type of licorice grew naturally within the barrier. Normally, licorice emitted a medicinal odor, but the licorice here was unique in that it gave off an exceptionally sweet aroma, just as its name suggested. Moreover, its effects were distinct from ordinary licorice... According to records, the last time resources were collected from this place was nearly 130 years ago.
"Truly a historic achievement... Inform the laborers to harvest this licorice here. Measure each person's collection, and rewards will be generous accordingly."
She instructed one of the laborers, and as the message spread among the laborers, they enthusiastically began charging into the vast field of licorice, cutting the plants as if in a competition. Three ryos of reward per basket was a generous payment considering their meager wages.
And Aoi also knew. No matter how conservatively one estimated the value of the licorice they were collecting, it was worth at least twice as much.
"Onitsuki's name will rise... "
The recovery of the long-neglected spiritual herbs, and the voluntary contribution of these resources to the court, was undoubtedly a substantial service. Compared to this achievement, a little violation of the order was a small price to pay... at least, Aoi thought so.
To merely respond to the court's assignments was insufficient. Such actions were merely a matter of course for exorcist families, and they fell far short of achieving her objectives.
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