The Wheel of Teaching
Still, Ninala proved surprisingly persistent.
Whatever wind had gotten into her, she followed everything Sunya instructed without question. Part of it was genuine curiosity about this so-called study of the mind he taught — but more than that, so long as she was attending his lessons, the emptiness inside her simply could not take hold.
Lugalmah, her bodyguard, never let it show outwardly, yet he too seemed privately interested in Sunya's classes. And when both his mistress and the next-highest person in their party were attending, the rest of the retinue had little choice but to join as well.
Nearly a month had passed when Enede approached Ninala.
"We're heading outside the city to hunt. Want to come along?"
"Hunt?"
It was the first time Enede had ever spoken to her first. Ninala hesitated, unsure what to say, and Lugalmah stepped forward.
"What's your purpose?"
His voice was cold. Fellow students or not, once enough time passed they would never see each other again. Their homes were far apart to begin with. For someone with no real need to socialize to make such an offer — the motive was bound to look suspicious.
"Just building some camaraderie. Nothing special."
"…I can't send the princess off alone with you on your word alone."
"Hmm…"
Enede glanced back and forth between Ninala and Lugalmah.
"Please grant them leave, Lugalmah."
Adapa walked up between them.
"Enede is someone you can trust completely. I stake my name on it."
"And who are you? Do you know me?"
"Ah — come to think of it, I never introduced myself, did I?"
In that instant, scales rose along Adapa's forearms. At the same time, fins sprouted beneath his ears. Seeing that, Lugalmah could guess who stood before him.
"I am Adapa, son of Enki. It's been quite a while since we last met face to face."
"…I stand before the king's counselor and one of the great Seven Sages. Your appearance has changed so much I failed to recognize you for a moment. Please forgive my discourtesy."
Though they did not live in the same city, Adapa's renown was not something a mere warrior like Lugalmah could even begin to compare with. Stretch the truth a little and a diplomatic incident was not out of the question — so Lugalmah's manner, so sharp a moment before, grew carefully measured.
"No need. I deliberately kept a low profile myself."
"But why would even you, Lord Adapa, attend the lessons of this man Sunya? Could his identity perhaps be…"
"That, I cannot say. Only understand this: I sit in these classes not because of the teacher's station, but because what he teaches is useful. In any case — returning to the matter at hand — Enede is thoroughly trustworthy. Even if you entrust the princess of Bad-tibira to her, I do not believe any great trouble will come of it."
"If it is not too forward of me, may I ask what relation you have to that woman?"
"As you can see, we are fellow students. And lovers as well."
"…He's not wrong."
Enede looked displeased, yet she did not deny it. Lately they had been sharing the same lodgings, and before sleep they joined their bodies. They had not formally married, but with only children missing from the picture, it was as good as a common-law marriage.
"…Very well. I will trust you on the strength of Lord Adapa's name. But what matters most is the princess's own will."
"I'll go!"
The instant Lugalmah finished speaking, Ninala cried out. Having watched over the king's daughter for so long, Lugalmah found it strangely affecting to see how much more assertive she had become since arriving here.
If His Majesty knew, he'd be quite hurt.
Picturing the king's sulking face at this belated rebellion, Lugalmah let out a quiet snort of laughter.
"Um, but — how do you actually hunt?"
"I'll teach you everything at first, so don't worry."
Once she had made herself ready, Ninala set out after Enede. She had expected the rough forest paths to wear her out, yet her body felt surprisingly light, and the discovery startled her.
"Strange, isn't it?"
Enede asked as they walked.
"Pardon?"
"Your body feels much lighter than before, doesn't it?"
"I… I suppose it does."
"Same thing happened to me. It's probably the breathing method the teacher taught us. At first I wondered why he made us do something so pointless — but once I kept at it every single day, my mind felt clearer and I seemed stronger than before."
"Ah…"
The conversation died. An awkward silence stretched between them. Or rather — Enede thought nothing of it, and only Ninala felt uncomfortable.
"Um, so…"
"Yes?"
"Why did you suddenly ask me to go hunting? We barely even talk most of the time."
Awkwardness was one thing; curiosity was another. But Enede's answer only deepened Ninala's confusion.
"Mm… call it a simple whim?"
"A whim…?"
"Uh… how do I put this…"
Enede frowned, sorting her thoughts. It was not that she had nothing in mind — putting it into words was simply hard.
"You just looked a little stifled, Princess."
"Stifled…?"
"Wherever you go, that whole retinue swarms after you. Doesn't it get tiresome?"
"I-it doesn't. Those people do everything for me before I even have to ask — all for my sake."
"…Being physically comfortable isn't the same as not being tired of it, I think. If that was just my imagination, I'm sorry."
Ninala turned Enede's words over carefully. In the end she decided to take the other woman's attitude as a kind of goodwill.
"Ah… well… thank you. You did it for me, then."
"It's nothing so grand."
Mid-sentence, Enede stopped Ninala short. Ahead of them, an antelope was grazing at its leisure.
"Perfect position. Want to try a shot?"
"Sh-shoot? Shoot what?"
"An arrow. The ones on your back."
"B-but I've never even held a bow before."
"It's fine. I don't expect anything anyway. And it's all right if you miss. Even if the hunt fails, we're not going to starve."
"…"
Put that way, it was hard to refuse. With trembling hands Ninala carefully nocked an arrow and drew the string.
Her arms shook violently. She managed to pull it back far enough — then her strength gave out and the string slipped free.
A dull thud.
Beginner's luck, perhaps. Against all odds, fortune favored her. The arrow, flying on a bizarre trajectory, buried itself squarely in the antelope's chest.
"…It actually hit?"
Having expected nothing at all, Enede was thoroughly astonished.
"I did it! I got it!!"
Even if it was pure luck, striking a vital spot on the first try sent Ninala leaping with excitement.
A high, thin cry tore through the air. Contrary to what either of them expected, the antelope did not collapse at once. It staggered, yet its legs kept moving. Thrashing, it forced its body into motion and fled the clearing.
"Wh—? What?!"
Enede tapped the shoulder of the panicking Ninala.
"I can track it, so it's fine. Just stay with me."
"Ah — yes!"
And so the two of them pursued the fleeing antelope. Alone, Ninala would certainly have lost it — but Enede turned out to be a surprisingly skilled hunter, and by following the blood trail they found the animal where it had finally gone down.
"Ah…"
Watching the antelope pant and heave for breath, Ninala's body went rigid of its own accord. Looking at that pitiful sight, she finally understood that she had taken a life.
"Auh… uh…"
She stood frozen like a fool, able to do nothing — and Enede stepped up to the antelope, drew a short blade from her side, and cut its throat in a single stroke.
Blood poured out. The light in the antelope's eyes drained away at once.
Death. Here and now, a living creature had lost its life. She had eaten meat any number of times before, but this was the first time she had ever watched a beast die with her own eyes. Looking on, Ninala felt as though her mind might come apart.
"Thank you for becoming our daily bread."
Even then, Enede pressed her palms together and bowed her head toward the dead antelope. The solemnity of the gesture was such that, for a moment, even Ninala's fear seemed to recede.
"E-Enede?"
"Yes?"
"Wh-what was that just now? Why did you put your hands together?"
"Ah — you mean the joined palms."
"Joined palms?"
"Yes. It's a greeting the teacher often uses. We also use it, like just now, when we wish to show respect to someone — or something."
"Ah…"
Without thinking, Ninala pressed her own hands together in imitation. She did not fully understand it, but it seemed to carry a certain weight.
The day when the joined-palm greeting would spread throughout Ku'ar still lay far in the future.
"There's a stream nearby. I'm going to dress the carcass — mind waiting a moment?"
"Dr-dress it?"
Ninala looked puzzled — and then, watching Enede pull the antelope's entrails free, she finally retched.