Just the Two of Us
A month had already passed since I first began learning the sword under Tomusa.
Whether it was the medicinal baths or simply a beginner's swift growth, I couldn't say, but my progress had been steep. And now a week that might leave me a little light-headed was just beginning to stir.
"Starting tomorrow, it seems we'll be away for about a week," Mom said over dinner.
"Where are you going?"
"We'll be making the rounds of the estate, and looking in on the businesses here and there."
So this was the season when Mom and Dad always grew busy.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to get by on your own while we're gone."
"It's fine. Tomusa's here. Being alone is nothing."
Mom gave me a peculiar look, as if she didn't quite trust that.
"Anyway, don't cause trouble. Behave yourself."
"I will. You don't have to worry. I'll look after the house, so have a good trip."
"At least you know how to say the right things. That puts me at ease. Keep a proper watch at Hayeong's side. Depending on the circumstances, I permit you to hand down a stern punishment."
"Yes, Clan Lord. Understood."
And so Mom and Dad set out the next day before I had even woken.
Their brief absence didn't change my life much. From daylight until nightfall it was training, and then more training. The dullness had no equal, and I wanted to put a little variation into my days.
"Tomusaaa, I've got a favor to ask~."
"No."
"I haven't even said it yet! At least hear me out!"
Tomusa let out a long breath.
"I can tell at a glance. You mean to go play in the streets."
"W-well, yes, but listen. I'm proud of you, Tomusa—my escort. I want people to leave me alone because of you. But don't you think we're missing something that shows the bond between us? So I was hoping we could look together for something that stands for our bond."
She pretended otherwise, but interest had clearly taken hold of her.
"Even so, going out into the streets ought to be with the Clan Lord..."
"No, no. I want to wander the streets with you, Tomusa. Just the two of us."
I poured on the coaxing, voice gone all sweet and nasal, and Tomusa began, little by little, to crumble.
"You and me. Just the two of us."
Her pupils shook in every direction at once, as if an earthquake had struck them.
"We'll get up early, start training early, and if there's time left at night, we go out then. That way we don't skip training, and we can still wander the streets—just the two of us."
Something in my words seemed to land. Slowly, she nodded.
"Yes! Tomusa, you're the best!"
I threw my arms around her and squeezed tight.
"We have to get up early tomorrow, so good night, Tomusa."
"...Pardon? Young Master, wait just a—!"
Khoo... khoo...
"Ha. There's nothing to be done about this."
"Sleep well."
The next day, true to my promise, I rose early and set to training.
After taking the spiritual elixir, I could clearly sustain my energy circulation for longer, and handle a greater store of internal energy. The burst of repulsive force still wasn't instantaneous, but the time it took to call it up had shortened. I no longer needed a large windup, or a long pause before I could move.
I had never been in a real fight, and I thought this much ought to be serviceable—but letting my guard down was out of the question. I still had to train, steadily, without pause.
"This should be enough. As expected, you grow quickly."
"Then shall we rest a little and move on to sword training?"
"Yes. I think that would be best."
The sun was still high. There would be plenty of time to go out this evening. I was looking forward to it.
"You've finished building your stances through the basic movements, so I'll teach you the forms in earnest."
Tomusa took up a wooden sword.
Fwick. Fwick.
Every stroke carried a heavy weight, and yet the path drawn by the sword's tip was elegance itself.
"So... so cool..."
The admiration slipped out of me on its own.
"This is the Great Pine Pursuit Sword, the sword art of the Yu Clan of Zhejiang. It employs the principles of the heavy sword, so the turning power of the lower body and the waist is everything. You're still young, Young Master, and your body is light, so you'll learn the forms wearing sand weights."
Wherever she had produced them from, Tomusa already held the sand pouches meant for my feet and my waist.
"Hup—these feel stranger than I thought."
"You'll adapt soon enough. Watch, and follow."
And so the sword lesson began in earnest.
Mom had been right. Once I started learning the forms, I felt a pleasure I had never known before. The lesson ran longer than I expected, but if I hurried my preparations, that was all there was to it. I dunked myself in the medicinal bath, washed, and got ready to go out in a rush.
"Young Master, are you ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go, Tomusa."
A short walk beyond the family compound brought us to a street lined with brilliant lights. The streets were divided in two: one where the inns and drinking houses stood, and one given over to the stalls. Tonight we were bound for the stall street. The foot traffic was heavy enough that even at night each stall lit its own lanterns and laid its goods out for show.
"All right—let's find something that symbolizes the bond between me and Tomusa!"
"Two hours. Only two hours. After that, we go back."
"I know, I know. Quit nagging and look at all this."
I caught her by the arm and pulled her toward a spread of glittering wares.
"May we look?"
"Of course. Come, little young master, and look the goods over."
The stallkeeper had laid out all sorts of things. Hairpins, combs, rings, and ornaments made up most of it.
"What's this?"
I pointed at one of them.
"Ah, that. That's what's called a keepsake blade."
The merchant parted sword from sheath, and out came a blade no longer than a grown woman's middle finger.
"What's a knife like this used for? It doesn't seem like something an ordinary household would keep."
"Ah, people usually buy these as betrothal gifts or presents. If it's a betrothal gift, it's generally the woman who presses it into the man's hand."
"Does it mean something?"
"Sometimes it's simply used to wish a person success. When lovers include it among the wedding goods, it means, 'Cherish your body.'"
So that was it. Something you gave a person and told them to keep for self-defense? It didn't seem like the sort of thing Tomusa would care for...
"I'll take this."
"Huh? Tomusa, you're buying that?"
"The Young Master has no weapon with which to protect himself. This is small, and I thought it would be easy to carry."
She said it, and before I knew it she had already finished paying.
"Young Master, take it."
Tomusa held the keepsake blade out to me. It settled neatly into my hand, easy to handle.
"Aigoo—could it suit our little young master any better."
"Tomusa, what do you think? Does it suit me?"
"Yes. I think I did well to buy it."
And so we finished our first purchase.
We were looking farther along the street when I spotted someone peculiar. Gray robes, top and bottom, and hair worn long down the back. In this world, that was the mark of a monk. The odd part was that he was a man.
"Excuse me—are you from the Potala Sect?"
"Ho ho. How did our benefactor know?"
As I thought. That had to be it.
"What are you selling, Monk?"
"Nothing special. Prayer beads, Buddha images, and the like, carved by the monks of the Potala Sect."
Everything he showed us was a wooden figure or a string of beads, but the variety was wide.
"The monks carve them diligently for their training, so the quality is good, every one."
"If they carved them for training, is it all right to sell them?"
"Carve them for training as you will—if you cling to them, it comes to nothing, benefactor. Letting them leave my hands is part of the training as well."
The Potala Sect really was a mysterious order. Even their training was unlike anyone else's.
"But why is a monk out selling goods?"
"Well... a child monk training at the temple has fallen ill, and I am urgently trying to raise the cost of medicine..."
I had thought it strange that a monk was selling anything at all. I hadn't imagined a reason like that.
"Tomusa, is this all right?"
"Yes. It should be fine. However, if today's outing comes to light because of this, you'll have to take responsibility."
"That much is fine. Monk, here are three taels of silver. Please take them."
"No, benefactor. I cannot accept so much money."
The monk waved his hands, refusing the coins.
"Then I'll buy this string of prayer beads for three taels of silver. That's all right, isn't it?"
"Truly... Benefactor, why are you doing this?"
"If it truly weighs on you, I'll hold it as a debt. The next time I need help, you can aid me."
"Very well. Thank you, truly, benefactor."
The monk bent at the waist in a bow. Not knowing what to do with myself, I simply smiled.
I took only the one string of beads, and we set off to look over the street again.
"May I ask why you did that?"
"I just thought it would be better to leave a debt in that person's hands."
"Truly. You're a child, Young Master, and yet there are so many times I cannot tell what you're thinking."
"Then shall we walk a little farther? Time's precious, so we ought to enjoy it. And we still have to find something that shows our bond."
"Understood. Let's look around some more."
The night was not yet over.