Chương 23: Back to Business

Guang told me that he would do what he could for Yomi, the lotus in my possession being just what he needed. I left him to it, the old man tending to Yomi's wounded side with both the flower and a strange rod of copper. There was no reason for me to hang around past that point, after all. I was much better at breaking people than I was fixing them. And anyway, getting her the flower was payment enough. Surviving what came next was all on her.

"Oi, Aniki," Haita said, leaning on a fence as I left Guang's office.

"Is it true? Was there really a yokai in these parts?"

"There was," I replied.

"The woman in there killed him. Saved your whole village."

"Ha." He gave me a jagged grin, a faint gleam in his eye.

"You and I know the truth about what really happened, don't we?"

"What really happened is none of your fucking concern, and I'll slap you if you try and spread stories about me." Leave it to this idiot to try and push his luck.

"Relax, Aniki, I know you value your privacy. So, er..." He fidgeted with his hands, his eyes shifting from side to side.

"Need any work done on the farm?" I sighed.

"Well... those bastards damaged my fence, right when I'd gotten the damn thing looking the way I'd wanted it. So, if I can trust you to do it, I'll have you mend the posts. In the meantime, I need to feed my hellcat and check up on his wounds." And so I set off, taking the familiar track along the north of Tiode, and Haita giddily followed me. It saved me some trouble, since his time working the farm had made him decent at working wood, and I was at least a little worried about Smoke.

"So uh," Haita said, deciding that I would much rather hear his fucking voice than the sounds of nature, "you're probably going to say it's none of my business, Aniki, but... what's your story anyway?"

"It's none of your business," I said.

"Ha. Right. It's just uh... Well, you have to admit, you're an oddity in these parts. I mean... we get the smugglers and some sailors from the west, but... it's not like any of them want to live here. And then there's, you know, that strength of yours." I exhaled slowly through my nose.

"All you need to know is that I was a bad man. Hells, I still am, just... trying to be less of a bastard," I said. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"You can be pretty mean for someone who wants to be less of a bastard, Aniki."

"I said trying to be," I replied through clenched teeth.

"My point is, I came out here for my own reasons. Good reasons, I reckon. Whoever I was before, you don't need to know. And it's better that you don't." There was a man standing by the gate to my farm. A portly man, a few inches shorter than me, large circular lenses resting on his plump cheeks. In his hands he clutched a large wooden box. The sight of him made me tense. He might not have looked like a warrior, but neither had many of the strong wizards back home. Looks could always be deceiving.

"Oh, that's..." Haita perked up, raising a brow, then he suddenly paled.

"Damn, it's Mikan's father, Ryu!" Ah. So he was alive. And when I got close enough, I could see a little similarity between them. Their noses were the same shape, and he had the same shade of brown in his hair.

"Huh. Haven't seen him around the village before," I murmured"He's take long trips from the village, trading with other villages. You know, merchant."

"I'm aware of how the merchant trade works, Haita. We have them in the west too." The plump man turned toward us at our approach, giving a small sniff.

"You're the westerner, then?" he asked. He had a dull and monotone cadence to his voice.

"What gave me away?"

"Mm." The old man offered the box to me, and I got a look inside. Two large white bottles clinked together, dominating the left half of the crate. The rest of the contents consisted of a few small wooden drums stacked atop each other.

"I heard you saved my daughter. This here's to thank you for your kindness. Not a lot of people would've risked crossing... such people." I appreciated he had some sense of subtlety about it.

"It was nothing. I'm glad she's okay." Nodding, Ryu motioned to the bottles.

"Those are sake from the Low Moon distillery. Among the best you can get in this region of Tsukio. And the drums are rice from Low Moon too. It's... not much, but I'm not a wealthy man. Felt these gifts were the best I could do for you. And a favour, if you ever need one from me."

"Mm. My thanks."

"Aha... good to see you, Sato-san," Haita greeted, waving awkward.

"Haita. I take it your father's fishing is still going well?"

"Aye, sir."

"Well, good." He nodded to me and turned to leave.

"You'll always be welcome in my store, Master Amon. You have my gratitude." I watched him go and felt a strange lump form in my throat. Gratitude... such a strange sensation, almost foreign to me. But it was... nice. But I smothered that sense of pride before it could swell too high in my breast. One good deed didn't change anything about me, and these people would lose that admiration damn fast if they knew the truth about me.

"You know where the tools and the wood are. You get to it, I'll join you when I can." I left the boy to it and made my way inside. Smoke was just inside the entryway, lazing on his side. He had a few strips of gauze covering the cuts he had gotten in the fighting, but was otherwise unharmed. Little guy, who wasn't so little anymore, perked up in my presence and started purring. Nowadays his purr sounded like stone grinding on stone.

I set the crate down so I could rub both sides of his head, and Smoke chuffed happily.

"You were very brave last night. I'm proud of you and your courage." He looked up at me with those large slitted eyes, his purring dimming for just a moment as he opened his mouth.

"Fa... ther." I stared silently at the cat, the corners of my mouth set in a frown.

"Alright, that is a touch concerning."