kscans

Chapter 2 - Betrayal and a Turning Point

Shintaro told Saimon that Mana had returned looking downcast and had shut herself in her room without a word. "Alright. I'll go check on her," Saimon said. The sweat beading on his brow showed that he, too, was on edge.

Mana was in her room when Saimon approached, sat beside her, and questioned her in a near-whisper.

"What did the Tower Master say? You didn't do anything to displease him, did you?" Mana looked at her father with suspicion.

"Is the family more important to you than I am, Father?"

"No, of course not. If you say you want Shintaro no matter what, I'm prepared to commit seppuku. But if you have even the slightest inclination toward the Tower Master, I want you to think it over carefully."

"Father..." Mana's eyelashes fluttered, moved by the fact that her father was prepared to die for her sake.

"What is it you think, Father?" Saimon held his breath and lowered his voice even further.

"Of course, I'm fond of Shintaro. I painstakingly raised him into a fine swordsman. But I can't weigh that against your future. It's obviously better to be the wife of the Tower Master than the wife of a mere dojo master. I want you to choose the path you believe will make you happy."

Mana looked troubled, placing a hand on her cheek.

"The Tower Master said the same thing. That I should do as I please." Saimon's eyes widened.

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

"So, what do you want to do? Tell me honestly."

"I can't decide so easily. Please give me some time." At those words, Saimon couldn't help but let a smile break across his face. He knew she was wavering. Given her personality, he had feared she would unwaveringly pursue her pure love for Shintaro, but she was only human, after all.

The Tower Master was handsome, and on top of that, he had money and status. He was young. It was only natural for any normal girl to be swayed.

Of course, there was no falsehood in Saimon's heart when he thought of Shintaro as a good son-in-law. But when the marriage proposal from the Tower Master arose, Shintaro began to look tarnished. The future that had once seemed so brilliant was now cast into shadow by something even more radiant.

That being said, he wasn't so foolish as to immediately succumb to greed. He still possessed enough rationality to know that Mana's happiness was the truly brilliant future. And when he asked his daughter, she told him the Tower Master also put her happiness first. Saimon stroked his chest, relieved, thinking what a blessing that was.

Still, refusing the offer would undoubtedly affect their future. If at all possible, Saimon hoped his daughter would accept. At the same time, while he felt bad for Shintaro, he desperately tried to justify his position by citing the unavoidable circumstances.

In the end, a father just wants his daughter to be happy, and it didn't matter whether the man who made that happen was Shintaro or the Tower Master. A calm assessment made it clear that the Tower Master was the superior choice, and Saimon, while saying he was fond of Shintaro, had already begun to resent him. If only Shintaro weren't in the picture, he thought, how gladly I could have accepted this proposal. He's skilled with a sword, true, but he's from a farming family. Besides his good looks, he has nothing else of appeal to offer. The very idea that they were about to choose such a man now seemed terrifying.

Saimon slapped his knee.

"Let me know when you've decided. I'll talk to Shintaro and make him understand." His joyous face and words all but screamed, "Please choose the Tower Master," leaving Mana bewildered. The truth was, Mana herself was leaning heavily toward the Tower Master. The problem was the guilt that came with it.

"But Father. That's so dishonest..." The words, coming from the same mouth that had just asked for time, were tantamount to a confession that she would betray Shintaro. Saimon didn't miss it. For a moment, his eyes glinted sharply.

"The other party is the Tower Master. There's nothing dishonest about it. It's wrong to even compare him to Shintaro. The public will accept it as a matter of course."

"What about Shintaro's feelings?"

"What of them? Shintaro is still young. With that face and his skill as a swordsman, he'll find someone else in no time."

Mana fell silent. Saimon was right; Shintaro was the kind of man who would find another partner quickly even if they broke up. The thought was somewhat vexing, but she also felt it would alleviate her guilt.

Meanwhile, Saimon, taking her silence for something more scandalous, pressed her in a low, slightly panicked voice.

"You haven't... you haven't sealed your vows with him, have you?"

Mana's eyes widened, and her face instantly flushed crimson.

"Of course not! We promised to wait until we were officially married... I've kept that promise."

Her voice trailed off at the end, but Saimon was relieved to hear it.

"Then let's give our reply at once."

Seeing her father rush things, Mana was now certain. My father wants me to marry the Tower Master. She steeled her resolve.

"Shouldn't we talk to Shintaro first?"

"I'll handle that. You just rest and prepare for your wedding."

"Will he be convinced just by hearing it from you?"

"A man like him will understand what's best for this house and your future, and will step aside gracefully."

But Shintaro still believed. He believed Mana would choose him, even if it meant defying the highest authority. The love they had nurtured over three years was real. There was no way her heart could have changed.

*

"What did you just say?" Shintaro couldn't believe his ears. The inner parlor where he sat formally facing Saimon was dim. The sun's angle was such that the very tip of the tall Tower's shadow was cast upon them.

"I said you can stay at the dojo as an assistant master, or you're free to go elsewhere," Saimon repeated, his voice cold.

This heartless treatment from a man he had looked up to like his own father made Shintaro's body tremble.

"Is this the Tower Master's will?"

"It's not right to blame the Tower Master, Shintaro. He told Mana she was free to choose as she pleased."

Shintaro's eyes bulged.

"Then Mana... she chose this?!"

"She is a kind girl. She was considerate of my position as her father and the prosperity of the dojo. The Tower Master is a good man, so she must have no complaints. Shintaro. If you're a man, wish for Mana's happiness and step aside gracefully."

"—!" Shintaro felt as if a blade had run down his spine, and he was overwhelmed by a surge of anger and sorrow.

The memory of Mana's smile, which had been directed at him until just the other day, began to fade like bubbles. The frustration of being unable to stop it and the powerlessness of having no one to back him up filled him with an unbearable rage.

The man before him. Hokura Saimon.

His frozen expression was burned into Shintaro's mind.

So I was just an outsider after all. Once he no longer wanted me as a son-in-law, this is what I'm worth. Filled with regret, Shintaro slammed his fist on the tatami mat.

What were those three years for?

Shintaro stood stunned on the covered walkway leading to the dojo. The happiness of yesterday was nowhere to be found, but if he looked back, he felt as if Mana might come running at any moment, her arm linking with his. That delusion only amplified his sadness, and the simple young man was deeply wounded.

To make matters worse, the disciples who heard that his engagement to Mana was broken began to show their true colors. They wouldn't even nod or greet him. Sometimes they would whisper amongst themselves, looking at Shintaro and snickering.

Shintaro couldn't stand it and fled the training hall.

As the assistant master and Mana's future husband, he thought he had treated the disciples well. He believed that their time together wouldn't be invalidated just because his circumstances had changed. But he was forced to realize that people will toss you aside like trash the moment they decide you're of no use to them. At this realization, Shintaro, who had resolved not to cry, finally felt tears welling in his eyes.

"I should have just stayed a farmer." Shintaro looked up at the sky, remembering his dear father and mother, and the smell of the earth.

As he was lost in thought, a man wearing a navy kimono and hakama, his face hidden by a wide-brimmed hat, appeared from nowhere and approached him casually.

"I heard there's a skilled swordsman at a dojo around here. You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?" Shintaro, though suspicious, answered curtly.

"I know a man named Hokura Saimon." The man laughed from under his hat.

"That wasn't the name. The rumor I heard was... Shintaro."

Shintaro was taken aback and took a step back to create some distance. Seeing his swift movement, the man seemed to understand. He lifted his hat slightly with one hand, revealing a rugged, wild-looking face. He appeared to be somewhere between thirty and forty.

"My apologies. So it was you." Shintaro frowned.

"And you are?" The man's lips curled into a tight grin.

"My name is Sahei. Rumors of you, Shintaro-sama, have reached as far as the Western Capital."

"The Western Capital?"

"Oh, my. It seems a man who has never left the Eastern Capital wouldn't know of it. The world is a wide place, Shintaro-sama. A man like you should see every corner of the country."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I've come to recruit you."

"Recruit me?"

"Wouldn't you like to put those sword skills of yours to full use?"