The Antlion Pit (11)
Perhaps because so much time had been consumed by one thing and another, a faint light was already creeping back from the east by the time we reached the encampment. Given that it was winter and the days were short, quite a few hours must have passed. I wonder if Ju Tae is awake...? Based on yesterday’s behavior, the odds are high she’s up, but after working herself to the bone all day, she might still be asleep. Which would win out in Ju Tae—her sense of duty or the limits of her body?
“Well then.”
Now that we were back at camp, making noise would only draw unwanted attention, so Sun Quan offered a brief farewell and returned to where she had originally been sleeping. I counted a considerable stretch of time in my head, but no reaction came, so it was safe to assume Ju Tae was still asleep. Still... it was only a matter of time. Ju Tae, who had tasted both the sweet and the bitter as a pirate, would never miss the subtle change in Sun Quan. When she noticed, she would react somehow.
“Looks like I really can’t wander around at dawn.”
There was still a little time left, so I tried to return to the bedding I had prepared the night before and get some sleep, but the spot that had been left without any human warmth all night was freezing, and dew had even formed inside. Grumbling, I shook out the cloth I used as a blanket, wrapped it around myself, and waited for time to pass.
“When do you think she’ll react?”
“She won’t react during the day. At the earliest, she’ll show some kind of response by this evening. Even then, breaking through the encirclement will take time and she’s short on troops, so Ju Tae won’t easily cast aside her main forces on mere suspicion.”
“You believe the encirclement has already been completed, then.”
“Last night’s events only made it thicker. Ju Tae’s display of power yesterday was impressive, but today is different. Unless the two of them are prepared to abandon everyone else and escape alone, they won’t break through easily. That means we can count on having plenty of time before they attempt it, so I won’t be punished for taking it a little easy.”
In truth, while strolling with Sun Quan last night, I had sensed traces of Ye Gwan’s troops here and there. They were few in number and had made no attempt to leave the encirclement, so they hadn’t reacted, but the moment any concrete breakout movement was detected today, Ye Gwan’s forces would respond from the positions we had marked last night. The enemy positions we had estimated yesterday were remarkably regular, which meant Ye Gwan’s troops had nearly finished constructing the encirclement.
“At the very least, they’ve linked up at battalion strength or higher, haven’t they? I didn’t want to reveal that we were aware of them and provoke unnecessary vigilance, so I left them alone, but judging by yesterday’s spacing, that’s about the size of it.”
As I spoke, something suddenly occurred to me and I asked Ser,
“My abilities... they’re coming back little by little, aren’t they?”
Now that I thought about it, I could feel my five senses slowly sharpening, however faintly. Even yesterday I had detected enemies at ranges I normally never would have noticed, and I had been able to distinguish between different powders even in the dark. I suspected it was because I had taken Sun Quan last night, and Ser gave an affirmative response to my guess.
“There was certainly an effect. But it is only temporary. Unless you truly twist fate, everything will eventually return to normal. You would do well to keep that in mind.”
“Temporary, huh...”
Even so, the fact that my abilities were returning, however slightly, was encouraging. I had felt as though something had been draped over me all this time, and the sensation had been unpleasant. Besides, I already possessed the means to make this trend permanent, so I was confident.
“Well, with this thing around, I’ll manage somehow.”
I took out the remaining four packets of Five Stone Powder and checked them. It was a shame I couldn’t use the branding and its accompanying hypnotic effects because of the ability loss, but the hallucinogenic effect of the powder was more than enough to fill that gap for now. The quantity was a little lacking, but if I used one packet a day, I could stretch it to four days. That should be enough, considering the remaining time limit. The only variable would be if Sun Quan stopped taking it of her own will, but I didn’t think I needed to worry about that at the moment.
“How’s your body?”
“Everything hurts like hell, ma—ah, I mean, Lady Sun Quan?!”
“Is that so. Then stay lying down a little longer. I’ll go fetch some medicine.”
While I was lost in thought, time had passed and the same scene from yesterday was repeating itself. The only difference was that Sun Quan was doing the work Ju Tae usually handled, and she was starting a little earlier. Thanks to that, the soldiers who had grumbled as they got up expecting Ju Tae were startled everywhere, while Sun Quan moved about busily, greeting them with a bright smile.
“Works pretty well.”
“It was made by the greatest pharmacist under heaven, after all.”
Ser had only checked the fields that interested her, so the immortal who created that powder was clearly no ordinary human. In any case, the drug seemed to be working properly; unlike yesterday, Sun Quan’s face was free of any shadow as she busied herself with whatever she could do. Look at that confident stride and that lively expression full of laughter. Watching her, I smiled in two different kinds of satisfaction—one from the sense of accomplishment that the medicine I had administered had produced positive results, and the other from the satisfaction of knowing that once Sun Quan had tasted this effect, she would not easily give it up.
“Looks like Ju Tae is finally awake.”
Ju Tae’s dazed face, having risen a little later than usual because of yesterday’s fatigue, overlapped behind Sun Quan. She must have been shocked to see Sun Quan looking completely different from yesterday, and at the same time she was probably seized by the question of what had caused it. Still, this change in Sun Quan was a rather desirable transformation from Ju Tae’s perspective. After watching her for a moment, Ju Tae’s lips stiffened slightly for some reason before she returned to her own spot.
“She’s holding back a laugh. She must be quite pleased.”
“...That was a laugh?”
Sun Quan had been right—Ju Tae really did seem to have strayed a little from the normal track. Still, if she just smiled more openly, she might be tolerable, but even her smile was like that... While I was thinking that, Sun Quan, who had been waking the soldiers just moments ago, had somehow approached and was now staring straight at me.
“You were already awake?”
“More like I never went to sleep.”
“Eh, that’s......”
“It was a joke.”
“Geez, what the...”
Sun Quan’s expression had turned slightly guilty, thinking it was because of her, but after hearing my words she let out a small laugh. Freed from her worries, her face now matched her actual age—innocent, pure, and clear. And I had defiled that face. Feeling like a child trampling a snow-white flower, I spoke to her in a low voice as she smiled.
“You’ll come again tonight, won’t you?”
She nodded, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
“Yes.....”
“Then put this powder in Ju Tae’s water when she eats tonight.”
I handed her the prepared white powder. She gave me a strange look and asked,
“This is...?”
“A sleeping drug.”
Before she could hesitate, I quickly added,
“It won’t harm her body. Besides, Ju Tae should rest properly when she rests. There’s no need for unnecessary worry.”
Whether my words had served as a kind of absolution or not, she nodded and tucked the powder into her robes. With this, Ju Tae would sleep soundly again today.
“Though she might end up sleeping forever.”
I muttered to myself as I watched Sun Quan walk toward the other soldiers.
“That aside.”
Since I wasn’t going to fall asleep anyway, I decided to check on the seriously wounded soldiers I had treated yesterday. A few of the soldiers Sun Quan had woken seemed to have had the same idea; they had already arrived before me. The patients’ complexions had calmed somewhat, but they still couldn’t rise from their bedding. Poor things. Meeting the anxious, uneasy gazes of the soldiers, I stood beside one of the seriously wounded and spoke in a small but clear voice, rousing his consciousness.
“Get up.”