That Was a Close Call
It was early morning, and I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet, when a servant from the clan head's hall rushed out and called for Tomusa. Her face was so grave that I couldn't help tensing up right along with her.
The door slid open.
"So you've come."
Mom dropped her voice and looked the two of us over. Then she opened her mouth, and the air around her turned crushing.
"Hayeong. Answer me. Is it true you shared a bed with Ihyeon?"
"...Yes. It is."
Mom flung a dagger at Tomusa.
"I will forgive you at the price of a single finger. Cut it off somewhere Ihyeon cannot see."
Tomusa picked up the dagger and nodded.
"Wait!! Tomusa, what are you agreeing to?! Don't cut off your finger!!"
I snatched her wrist as I shouted.
"Ihyeon, you needn't concern yourself."
"No, no. You're my bodyguard—how am I supposed to not care? And 'shared a bed'? What kind of crude talk is that?"
At my words, Mom's eyebrow twitched.
"The physician came yesterday and reported the conversation the two of you had. Hayeong, and here I trusted you."
She clicked her tongue and fixed Tomusa with a look.
"You've got it all wrong. Tomusa sleeping with me just means she sleeps beside me!!"
"Sleeps beside you...?"
"Yes! Ever since I was kidnapped, I'm scared to sleep alone, so we sleep together!"
Pfft!
Dad, who had been quietly watching from the side, couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Mom turned a razor-sharp glare on him.
"Hayeong. Is that the truth?"
"What...? Y-yes. It is."
Tomusa glanced at me, then smoothly played along.
"Then why make such an unreasonable request of your bodyguard, and not of your mother or father?"
"Because Mom and Dad get all lovey-dovey every night...."
Pffft!
Cough, cough.
My parents' faces went scarlet. Mom cleared her throat and pressed on.
"Th-then it seems I misunderstood. Hayeong, I'm sorry."
"Not at all, Clan Head. It was a situation anyone might have misread."
"Then both of you may go."
Whether she was ashamed of the misunderstanding or simply drained by what I'd said, Mom drove Tomusa and me straight out. I was flustered, and Hayeong looked no less so.
"Young Master, that excuse just now...."
"Hey now, I didn't make an excuse. I only told the truth."
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you did."
The joke seemed to ease her tension; a faint smile touched Tomusa's lips.
"Still, I've never seen Mom that scary."
"Really? I thought the Clan Head went rather easy on us."
"Eh? You mean she wasn't even properly angry yet?"
I stared at her, eyes wide.
"Yes. When the Clan Head is truly angry, she's far more frightening. But what did you mean, that she gets all lovey-dovey...."
"Shh! That's a secret."
"Yes, understood. Well then, it's been a while since you were up this early. Shall we do morning training?"
"What??"
And so, on the excuse that I'd woken early, I had no choice but to take morning training.
"Tomusa~ but Master said my body isn't well suited to training the external arts, remember?"
"Even so, doing it and not doing it makes a great difference. Hold the sword straight."
"Hngh. It was more fun training with Master."
The moment the words left my mouth, something cracked from Tomusa's direction—a sharp, breaking sound.
"Young. Mas. Ter?"
That, I suspected, was the sound of her reason snapping.
"Eek, it was a joke! A joke!!"
But she showed no sign of stopping, and I was caught with nowhere to run.
"Look me in the eye and say that again."
"Aww, Tomusa, come on.... I told you it was a joke."
"Then you'll have to be punished."
"Eek!!"
In the end she seized my cheeks and squished them over and over.
"Have you reflected a little now?"
"Yeah. Thanks to a certain someone, I reflected very well."
I shot her a deliberate glare.
"I'm glad to hear it. Let's go have breakfast."
She paid the glare no mind at all.
"Are you eating with me?"
"No. I'm fine."
"Hmm... all right."
And so we went to eat. The trouble started the moment we actually got there.
"Tomusa. Morning training must have been too much—I can't even lift a spoon."
The strength had drained from my arms until they hung limp, and I couldn't get a proper grip. The chopsticks danced around in my hand on their own.
"Even if you're not eating with me, can't you sit beside me and feed me?"
"No. Eat by yourself."
"Tch. Stingy."
In the end I was reduced to scooping nothing but soup with a spoon. It didn't last.
Tomusa set a bite of food on top of my spoon.
"I can't feed you, but I can help this much."
To think she'd grown this far. Yesterday must have had something to do with it. Either way, I was moved.
"Tomusa~."
"Young Master, do not get up. And do not try to hug me."
"Tch, fine. I get it, so help me eat."
She smiled and brought food to the front of my plate.
"Blech. This is eggplant!"
"I'll give you meat when it's time, so chew thoroughly and swallow."
"Ugh, fine."
I thought that was how the meal would end, with Tomusa's help. Then she traded a single look with the servants and rose from her seat.
"Tomusa, where are you going?"
"I'm sorry. Something urgent came up...."
Well, sometimes you suddenly need the bathroom. I understand, Tomusa.
"But then who's going to give me the side dishes?"
As if they'd been waiting for exactly those words, the servants picked up their chopsticks and, one after another, set the dishes they'd prepared onto my plate.
"Whoa~! Thank you, all of you!"
"Not at all. We simply wanted to."
"Young Master, please chew thoroughly."
"Here is the meat you like."
When I smiled at them, they all waved me off. Still, gratitude is gratitude.
"Really, truly, thank you! I've always thought so—I just never said it out loud, hehe...."
"Ahem, our Young Master, already...!"
"Y-Young Master...!"
They reacted fiercely to a simple thank-you. Is this what adult social life looks like? At any rate, thanks to the servants I finished a comfortable meal, and Tomusa returned right on cue.
"Did you enjoy your meal?"
"Yeah, it was delicious. I think it tasted even better thanks to you."
"I-is that so?"
The corner of her mouth twitched. As expected, she was weak to praise.
"Come to think of it, where did you go?"
"It's a secret."
"Tch. So are you teaching me swordsmanship again now?"
"No. During the day you should polish what the elder taught you. My instruction is scheduled for tonight."
Ehh, so I have to train all day?
"Don't make that face. It's all for your sake, Young Master."
"Tch, fine. I'll do it if I have to."
"Then let's go to the training ground."
"Yes, ma'am~!"
By day I practiced what Master had taught me: calling up rebound force at the exact moment I wanted it, drawing on inner energy in the right measure, handling yin qi and yang qi, and even kindling cold and heat. It was mostly the basics, but I found every bit of it a joy. Drawing inner energy out of my dantian and putting it to use—this was what I had wanted for so long. It was more than enough to ease my hunger for this world.
The swordsmanship I learned at night was another matter. I could still manage only a horizontal cut, a vertical cut, and a thrust, and even those were fiendishly tricky. I couldn't use inner energy for them either, so my stamina dropped fast and I wore out in no time.
"Tomusa~ isn't it time for dinner yet?"
"Not even close. Ask again and I'll add a hundred vertical cuts."
"Hiiing... fine...."
Most of the time Tomusa was crisp on the outside and soft within, but the moment she taught the sword she turned into nothing but hard stone.
I collapsed where I stood.
"It's over now, right? I'm so tired I can't move."
"Yes, it's over. Let's wash up and go eat."
"Can't I eat first and wash after?"
Instead of answering, she smiled, scooped me up, and carried me to the baths.
"Tomusa, the water looks weird."
"Don't worry. I only steeped medicinal herbs in it, so the color changed."
Now that she said it, I thought I could smell the herbs drifting up.
"Then wash quickly. You only need to soak."
"For how long?"
"Half a shichen."
Eh, I have to sit here doing nothing for an hour?
"The herbs will help you recover."
"But...!"
"You'd better get in quickly. Otherwise dinner will be over."
"Ugh, fine."
In the end I stripped and stepped into the tub.
"Ugh, it's hot."
Once I submerged myself in the medicine, a strange feeling came over me—as if the herbs were seeping straight into my body. The limbs that had been too spent to move began, miraculously, to ease. The rising smell of medicine was a flaw, but as I grew comfortable and the fatigue washed away, sleep came creeping in.
I knew falling asleep now would leave me in an awkward spot, so I fought it with everything I had.
"I haven't even had dinner yet. I can't sleep."
But if I only kept my eyes closed, that would be all right, wouldn't it? Right. I just had to not fall asleep. I'd only close my eyes.
Just my eyes....
Zzz....