Chapter 111
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: To Mikawa (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Baek Il-yeong and Akechi Mitsuhide were escorting the merchants, who soon joined up with another group heading to Mikawa.
Of course, there was no reason for alarm.
It had all been arranged in advance.
No, it wasn't just pre-arranged—the escorts for the joined merchants included half of Il-yeong's own retainers.
"Well, it's been a while."
"Sure has."
The merchants had no idea, so they exchanged greetings after so long apart and checked their luggage.
Meanwhile, five samurai dressed in shabby clothes with sedge hats pulled low to look like ronin—just like Il-yeong and Akechi Mitsuhide—silently gripped the hilts of their swords at their waists.
But it wasn't hostility; it was simply the pressure of having to protect Il-yeong with such a small group.
On the other hand, whether Il-yeong sensed the escorts' unease or not, he merely casually scanned the group's makeup.
'Eight merchants, twelve escorts total.'
Twenty people in all. Five were genuine ronin hired to guard the merchants.
As Il-yeong sized up the group, an elderly man who seemed to be the lead merchant called out to him and the other escorts.
"Alright, everyone! Get ready to move out!"
At his shout, the merchants shouldered their goods once more, and the escorts tightened their belts and packs before stepping forward.
Since they'd already joined up near the border to Mikawa Province, their goal was to cross before sunset.
How long had they been walking?
—Thud, thud.
A merchant sidled up quietly to Il-yeong as he silently climbed the mountain path. Naturally, Akechi Mitsuhide and the other escorts kept watch around them while eyeing the man.
But Il-yeong himself looked utterly calm as he turned to the approaching merchant and asked,
"What is it?"
"My, you're not the wary type."
Unlike Il-yeong, whose black sedge hat covered everything but his lower face, the merchant was a young man with a thin cloth over his mouth.
He scratched his head at Il-yeong's direct question, then chuckled and said,
"Nothing major. Just a small favor to ask. Haha."
"A favor?"
"Well..."
When Il-yeong pressed, the man waved a hand as if to say wait, then slipped his other hand into his sleeve.
And at that moment.
—Grip.
Akechi Mitsuhide, who had been silently matching Il-yeong's stride at his side, gripped her sword tightly and watched the man's movements closely.
It was only natural.
No one could predict what might come out of that sleeve. So not just Akechi Mitsuhide, but all the other escorts were primed to react to his every move.
"Ah, there it is."
But the tension proved unfounded.
—Swish.
What the man pulled out was a silver coin circulating as currency in eastern Japan. He slipped it slyly to Il-yeong, out of sight of the other merchants, with a grin.
Il-yeong accepted it reflexively and had to ask,
"What's this?"
"Nothing much. Just a little extra income."
"Extra income?"
The man gave Il-yeong a knowing look, as if to say you know better, then explained,
"You get it. You look like the best fighter here by far, and with things so tense lately, if something happens, take care of me too while you're at it. Haha."
"Ah."
In other words, on top of the contracted merchants, he wanted protection for himself as well.
"Heh heh."
The man flashed a sly, merchant-like grin.
Il-yeong watched him for a moment, then pocketed the coin and nodded.
"Fine."
He had no intention of just standing by and watching someone die in front of him anyway. And the side income was a bonus.
Still, one part of what he'd said caught his attention.
"What do you mean things are tense?"
The man grinned in satisfaction at the question and replied,
"You're a bit behind on the news."
His slightly cocky tone made Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes narrow, but Il-yeong ignored it and nodded for him to continue.
The merchant grinned wider and spoke.
"Things in Mikawa Province aren't good right now. Not only are the officials sent down by the Imagawa Clan squeezing the people dry, but the next Daimyo is just a 15-year-old girl."
"A girl."
"Yes, a girl. Even with all those exceptional princess daimyos out there, who would follow someone so young with no real base? That's why desperate commoners are turning to banditry or fleeing to other lands left and right."
Il-yeong nodded at the merchant's words.
Sure enough, around this time, the people's morale in Mikawa Province would be at rock bottom.
"That's why we're keeping this merchant trip small and quiet. If we get hit, we're done for."
The merchant was quite the talker.
"I just don't know what's become of the world. I hear Owari Province is somewhat stabilized thanks to that Yaksha fellow, but of all things, he's fallen ill. Everyone's saying it'll all go to hell again if he dies..."
Since Il-yeong was listening without much reaction, the man loosened up and kept chattering on about this and that.
"I see."
It wasn't bad conversation.
Especially hearing about the internal struggles in Owari from a commoner's perspective felt strangely intriguing.
But that didn't last.
They were nearing the Mikawa border when the old guide leading the way suddenly stopped. His face hardened as he pulled a hand axe from his pack and shouted,
"Bandits!"
—Shing!
—Clang!
His booming voice, unbelievable for his age, prompted the hired ronin escorts to draw their swords in unison. Akechi Mitsuhide and the other samurai did the same.
And sure enough.
—Whoosh!
A volley of arrows rained down on the lead old man and the group, while bandits hidden in the trees and bushes leaped out with crude swords, axes, and sickles, yelling raucously.
"Waaaaah!"
"Kill them!"
Fortunately, the arrows weren't too numerous, and their accuracy was so abysmal it was better they hadn't shot at all. A few merchants got grazed, but that was it.
The real problem was the bandits charging down the mountain with weapons raised and heavy footsteps.
"Th-there's too many!"
The talkative merchant at Il-yeong's side drew a small dagger-like sword for self-defense, but his voice trembled at the sight of their numbers.
It might seem pathetic at a glance, but Il-yeong understood.
'Roughly thirty or more.'
For bandits, it was a considerable force.
Some even wore the shoulder guards ronin favored and wielded Japanese swords, suggesting they had some battle experience.
Thirty, maybe forty bandits.
Against twenty people, but only twelve who could actually fight.
It looked like a foregone conclusion to anyone, so the man next to Il-yeong frantically dug into his sleeve, pulled out all his silver coins, and yelled,
"L-let's run first! For a group this size, we need to alert the nearest village and get a posse!"
His words came out in panic, but they weren't without merit. What he didn't know, though...
"Momomaru."
"...Yeah. Shiroi."
Momomaru.
Shiroi.
Pseudonyms they'd chosen since they couldn't use their real names. Momomaru was originally Akechi Mitsuhide's childhood name, while Shiroi was just the Japanese pronunciation of Il-yeong's surname Baek, meaning "white."
At any rate, they addressed each other, and Il-yeong drew Onimaru Kunitsuna, its red scabbard concealed under black cloth.
—Shing.
The blade, steeped in countless bloodshed yet still gleaming blue, sang a clear tone as it cleared the sheath. At the same time, the other samurai, swords already drawn, silently steadied their breaths as if awaiting his command.
"Rough math says three per person?"
Il-yeong muttered, then locked eyes on a massive bandit charging right at him.
"Die!"
The bandits seemed intent on killing everyone from the start, not even offering surrender terms as they swung their weapons wildly.
—Whoosh!
The giant's massive axe came down to cleave Il-yeong's head in two. The merchant watching from right beside him squeezed his eyes shut.
"Eek!"
But then.
"Well, this is awkward."
Il-yeong chuckled awkwardly, wiping hot liquid from his cheek.
"Guh... guhuk!"
He met the eyes of the staggering giant, who looked incredulous, then slowly withdrew the sword precisely embedded in the bandit's throat.
"Even worse than I thought."
Those were the last words heard by the nameless bandit who had slain over ten samurai.