Volume 3 Chapter 36 Tenhou, Listening To Seirei's Dream Story
"Brother!! I'm so glad you're safe..."
The first to jump out of the carriage was Seirei.
Seirei reached out to me, but then noticed Father and Brother and stopped.
Straightening up, Seirei said,
"I'm sorry. But I'm really relieved that you're okay. I... was so worried..."
"Seirei... what happened?"
Seirei was trembling, tears welling up in her eyes.
This is strange.
When I left, she didn't seem this anxious.
What on earth happened...?
"Please listen to her story, Tenhou."
It was Tanshi-san who said that.
"After parting from you and Kaou, it seems Ryuu Seirei became unstable. She was very worried about you, Tenhou."
"Is that so?"
"It would be best to hear the details from her directly."
"Understood."
I nodded and looked at Father and Brother.
"I'm sorry. Please let me talk to Seirei first."
"Very well."
"That's fine. I will convey any necessary information to Tanshi-dono."
"Thank you."
I took Seirei's hand and headed to the room.
"...After sending you and Kaou-sama off, I... suddenly became anxious..."
This is my room in the northern fortress.
Seirei sat down on the bed and began to speak softly, bit by bit.
"At first, I was fine. But... after being apart from you, I started having scary dreams."
"What's a scary dream?"
"...It's the dream when my mom was killed by a bandit's arrow..."
Seirei said this while looking down.
"And then, I remembered that my brother is chasing a poison arrow user... and I got scared. The mom in my dream... and my brother started to overlap. I thought my brother might get hurt by a bad person's bow and arrow too..."
...I see.
Seirei's family was attacked by bandits.
During that, Seirei's mother was shot with an arrow and killed.
Seirei saw it happen up close.
Remembering that, I might have felt anxious about fighting a master archer.
I'm here near the northern fortress to fight the poison arrow user.
It's not far from where Seirei's family was killed.
That must have triggered Seirei's trauma.
And──
"Did Seirei think that the poison arrow user who hurt Master Raikou might be the one who killed your mom?"
"...I don't know. Honestly, I don't really understand it myself."
Seirei shook her head.
"But I was really... really scared. I couldn't help but think about losing someone important again... and I couldn't stop shaking."
Seirei, sitting next to me, whispered,
"After I separated from my brother... the moment my mom died in the dream came back to me clearly. The sound of the strong bowstring and the red and white feathered arrow that pierced my mom's back."
"...I see."
"I'm sorry. Brother. I'm... troubling you."
"It's okay. You don't have to worry about it."
I gently patted Seirei's back.
But Seirei kept her head down and said,
"But, but... I asked Tanshi-sama to let me join my brother's unit. I thought I could be helpful to my brother... But still..."
"Seirei, you've been really helpful."
I looked into Seirei's face and said.
"The bird I borrowed from you delivered the letter to Kairyou-aniue just fine. Thanks to that, both my brother and I were saved."
"...Brother."
"And I took down the poison arrow user and the enemy archers."
"...I'm glad."
Seirei let out a sigh of relief.
Then she leaned her weight on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
It was like the tension she had was finally easing.
This was the first time I heard about the arrow that killed Seirei's mother.
It was something only Seirei knew.
Seirei's mother was shot and then fell off a cliff.
She fell into a river.
Her body was carried away by the river and found by the soldiers at the fortress.
When they found her, her body was in terrible condition.
It was all bruised from hitting the rocks. The arrow that had been in her back was gone.
That's why they didn't know what kind of arrow had killed Seirei's mother.
So, only Seirei knows what kind of arrow killed her mother.
Neither I nor anyone from the Kou family tried to force her to remember.
I didn't want to bring back painful memories, and I didn't care about the color of the arrows. I thought the one who killed Seirei's mother was a member of the Jinkyo Tribe, and that they had died in battle.
But Seirei hadn't forgotten about the arrow that killed her mother.
That memory might have come back because I talked about the poison arrow...
In the game 'History of Swordmaster,' there are no characters that use arrows painted red and white... Actually, the game doesn't even show the color of the characters' arrows.
So, I can't tell if the user of that arrow is a hero from the game.
Still, the trauma related to arrows must have been stressful for Seirei in the game.
That might be one reason why Seirei became a villain in the game.
"The poison arrow user had black arrows."
I placed my hand on Seirei's trembling shoulder.
"So I don't think that person is the one who killed Seirei's mother."
"...I'm relieved."
"And... the one who shot Seirei's mother might have just happened to use red and white arrows. That person could just be an ordinary archer, maybe captured somewhere or even dead. I can't know for sure, but..."
I moved in front of Seirei.
Kneeling on the floor, I looked straight into Seirei's face.
"If I find the one who killed Seirei's mother, I'll take them down. As your brother, I'll avenge her for you. Is that okay?"
"...No."
As she met my gaze, Seirei answered clearly.
She shook her head and then looked at me.
"Brother... you don't have to do that."
"But, Seirei, you're worried about your mother's killer, right?"
"I just got a little anxious. I'm okay now."
Seirei wiped her tears with her thin fingers.
Then she looked at me and smiled,
"When I see your face, all my worries disappear."
"...Is that so?"
"Your appearance, your voice, and... your warmth are the best medicine for me. So, I'm okay now. And..."
Seirei closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She reached out her arms... and touched my face with her fingertips.
"If I start to hate someone... and become a bad person because of it, I might end up being hated by you."
"No way, I could never hate Seirei."
"Y-yes. I know you're not that kind of person. But..."
Seirei pressed her cheeks with both hands,
"If I make you worry or trouble you, I won't be able to forgive myself. I always want to be the person who supports you."
"...Seirei."
"That's my goal. Mom might get mad at me for this... but this is my true feeling right now. So, I don't want revenge."
Seirei placed her hand on her chest and declared firmly.
"...You're amazing, Seirei."
I really think so.
She seemed anxious remembering how our mother was killed, but she is overcoming it on her own.
And she is determined to live without being trapped by revenge.
...Seirei has really grown up.
"Th-that's right... I have someone I absolutely don't want to lose to."
Then Seirei shook her head as if to hide something.
"To not lose to those people, I can't get caught up in revenge. This time... I got anxious because of an embarrassing mistake..."
"That's not true. Seirei, you're amazing."
I stroked Seirei's silver hair.
"Seirei has grown a lot. I'm really surprised."
"Thank you, big brother. But... I want to grow even more."
For some reason, Seirei stared at her palm placed on her chest.
"The parts where you praise me... and other parts too. There are people around me who are growing even more..."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is!"
"I see."
I stroked Seirei's hair again.
Since she smiled at me, I took her hand and stood up.
"Let's go to everyone. They must be worried."
"Yes, big brother."
So we headed towards Shouou and Touri.
After relaxing together for a while, I went to see Father and my older brother.
As the unit leader, I needed to report about the recent incident.
After hearing my report, Father said,
"After a short break, I want to ask Tenhou and the others to scout around the fortress."
He said that.
The Jinkyo Tribe's unit is still positioned beyond the border.
We don't know when they might invade.
So, it was important to patrol near the border and report any abnormalities.
"Understood, 'General Skybear'."
I clasped my hands and received the order.
Just as Kairyou-aniue said.
I can freely conduct reconnaissance activities within Aika Country.
Alright. Let's do this thoroughly.
With my and Shouou's walking techniques, along with the support of the animals controlled by Seirei, we can investigate a pretty wide area.
Plus, with Touri's Pressure Point Technique, we can capture prisoners without hurting them.
Gathering information should also become much easier.
Thinking about all this, I left my father's room.
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