Chapter 15: The Celebration Banquet and Forced Smiles

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To celebrate Taisō and his group rescuing the village chief’s granddaughter, Chief Kichō generously took out the winter provisions. He bought wild boar, rabbit, and venison from the hunters and simmered them together in a large iron pot, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

The household’s laborers and maids also came over to help. When night fell, Taisō and Kichō sat in the living room drinking and chatting, with Kōzaburō keeping company. The others ate and drank in the courtyard. For the ninja, this was a rare moment of rest—porridge made from mixed grains was cooking in a pot prepared for the lower-ranking ninja.

Additionally, there was miso soup made with tofu and scallions, along with local delicacies like stewed radish and braised shiitake mushrooms. Side dishes included taro, chestnuts, yam, boiled rice cakes, fish cakes, and dried persimmons as dessert.

For a northern village, this celebratory feast was quite lavish. Most of the lower-ranking ninja came from poor farming families, bound by contracts that forced them into these life-shortening duties. Given their humble origins, such food was a rare luxury.

These ninja were naturally endowed with spiritual energy and had appetites far greater than ordinary people. Usually, at Mount Kurohime, they ate three meals a day, whereas common folk typically had only two. Though their meals were filling, they mostly consisted of coarse rice porridge mixed with various grains, accompanied by pickles and kimchi.

From a modern perspective, their diet was barely enough to sustain life—worse than the mess halls of the South Korean military. After all, South Korean soldiers had access to small stores, while these ninja had to rely on occasional hunting for wild game to supplement their meals.

On the other hand, this meal provided to the lower-ranked ninja also reflected the considerable wealth of the village chief’s household. Though now a poor village chief, Kichō had apparently been an herbal medicine merchant in the past. Yome’s father, too, was a traveling merchant who had died of illness on the road, leaving behind a fairly substantial estate.

“It’s quite lively,” Taisō sighed, not joining the feast.

After all, he still had important business to attend to.

He stepped outside the courtyard and found a spot by a corner of the wall. Taking a used ninja blade from his belt, he examined it carefully under the bright moonlight.

These ninja blades were cheap and prone to various issues with prolonged use, including rust, pitting, chipped edges, broken tips, and bent blades.

“Luckily, the blade isn’t warped or curved. It should still be usable for some time,” he thought.

If the blade bent out of a straight line from heavy impact, it would need tools to straighten and level it. A curved edge was an even bigger problem.

He took out a piece of deerskin to wipe the blade clean, thinking he would have to sharpen it again once he returned.

Afterward, Taisō inspected the spear he had brought—a traditional “straight spear” with a simple design, its blade shaped like bamboo leaves, known as the Sasaho spear.

The shaft wasn’t bamboo but had a very hard wooden core taken from a sacred tree at the shrine, ensuring its durability.

He mainly checked the junction between the shaft and spearhead to ensure it was secure; a broken spearhead in battle would be fatal.

Suddenly, a timid voice sounded beside his ear.

“Um… I came to bring you some food…”

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Taisō turned his head and was surprised to see the village chief’s granddaughter, Yome. She was a petite girl with long hair styled like a traditional Japanese doll’s, already showing signs of becoming a beauty despite her young age.

“Um… these are venison and vegetable meatballs,” she said carefully, offering a plate.

“Thank you, Miss Yome,” Taisō accepted the plate, astonished the girl had come to him.

“Also, I want to apologize for what happened earlier,” Yome bowed her head.

“It was all because of me, and I spoke harshly to you… I only now realize how much worry I caused everyone, even Grandfather. He didn’t even scold me harshly…”

Reuniting with her grandfather, the girl wept openly.

After that, something strange about her seemed to vanish suddenly.

Taisō was deeply surprised. From his perspective, the discordant aura surrounding the girl was like a dark cloud swept away.

Perhaps to others, it seemed she had finally come to her senses after today’s events.

But Taisō thought differently.

“Hypnosis, or suggestion… it must be mental interference,” he mused, his gaze deepening.

It was now clear that within the Inamori village incident from the game, there were behind-the-scenes truths unknown even to the players.

“Yet, I still can’t forgive myself… I now see that those mountain sprites were deceiving me. Monsters lie. Why did I… believe them?” Tears streamed down her lowered face.

“I must have been so foolish. To make matters worse, I thought you were the villain. I’m truly sorry… In a village like this, no one wants to be friends with me. I had to deceive myself into believing the mountain sprites were friendly… Even now, I wonder if it was all just my imagination, if this was all an illusion—”

“Is that so?” Taisō said expressionlessly, uninterested.

“So, Miss Yome, would you run away from home again?”

“No,” the girl shook her head, wiping away tears. “I won’t do that anymore. I won’t cause trouble for everyone again…”

She murmured quietly, “Grandfather said he will send me to the city to learn the herbal medicine trade like my father did. I probably won’t stay in the village much longer… Although no one blames me, I don’t want to remain a child forever.”

“That’s good,” Taisō finally relaxed.

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“Well, I want to thank you again. By the way… may I know your name?”

She composed herself and bowed deeply.

“Taisō.”

He gave her this false name.

“If we meet again, I promise I will do my best to repay you, Mr. Taisō.”

The girl clutched her chest.

“I will be a good girl and won’t let everyone down.”

It seemed she had made up her mind.

Taisō sighed inwardly.

With this, she should avoid repeating the second, tragic ending.

“Then—”

Next came the battle that belonged to him alone.

…

In the dead of night.

Just as Taisō decided to bring the Inamori village incident to a thorough close, within the deep mansion of Mount Kurohime, Yagaro Yoake sat face-to-face with his fiancée.

Her emotions were complex, a whirlwind of feelings, restless and uneasy as a maid holding a lantern led her into a lavish Japanese-style room.

The room was splendidly adorned with golden walls and exquisite folding screens. The background was also gilded—any visitor looking around would see dragons, lions, pine trees, plum blossoms, mountains, water, and flowing clouds gracing the walls. Whether it was gold leaf or not, the backdrop gleamed with a soft golden hue.

“Long time no see, Lord Yoake,” a silver-haired girl knelt gracefully in the center. The maid who had guided them stepped back outside the sliding paper doors.

Kohagi of Mount Kurohime—his fiancée.

She knelt on the tatami mat, her silver hair neatly gathered behind her.

“I sincerely apologize for what happened earlier… My subordinates’ misjudgment almost cost you your life. I hope you can forgive us.”

The more earnest her apology, the more awkward Yoake felt, his toes curling and his expression only a forced smile at best.