KANA 7
The Fierce Saintess
episode 7
-Horizontal.jpg)
*****
「This evening, is it? Well, if you like, we have time until then, so shall I show you around? I could take you to the barracks or the training grounds, for instance.」
「Indeed. There are a few things I wish to verify as well. May I count on you, then?」
Princess Kana readily agreed to the proposal. As she followed Burley—who said, 「This way, then」—she decided to ask about a question that had been weighing on her mind.
「If we travel on horseback, how will we handle our baggage? The amount a horse can carry is quite limited, is it not? Will that not cause trouble when we camp? Furthermore, we must transport provisions as well, yes? How are all those to be moved?」
「Ah, as for the baggage, mages who possess Magic Boxes will be accompanying us, so they will carry it. If you have anything you wish to bring along, Lady Saintess, simply inform them and it will be taken care of.」
「A "magic box," you say?」
「Yes. Would you like to see one?」
「Is that truly alright? I would love to see it.」
Seeing the princess make no secret of her curiosity, the commander said, 「Then allow me to guide you to the mages' training grounds,」 altering their course slightly as they walked. Their destination was an open space enclosed by high walls, along which stood a row of targets resembling those used in archery.
In front of the targets gathered a large group of individuals clad in dark, hooded traveling cloaks. They were chanting incantations and unleashing fire and water toward the targets, or slashing at them with the power of wind. The commander called out to one of the men who was blasting a lightning-like light at a target.
「Hey, Henry! Sorry to bother you, but show your Magic Box to the Saintess!」
Reacting to the word "Saintess," the gazes of everyone present converged on Kana and her companions at once. Though a few of those looks harbored fear, the vast majority brimmed with curiosity and an expectation laced with relief.
「Is that... the Saintess?」 「Then those foxes must be...」 「At last, with this...」
Such whispers reached her ears.
As if delighted to be out in a wide-open space for the first time in a while, the two white foxes scampered around. Watching them with curiosity, the man who had just been called ran over. He was tall yet slender, with dark grayish hair and eyes, possessing the appearance of a scholar.
「Forgive the wait, Commander. Lady Saintess, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Henry Gingel, a Royal Mage. Another mage named Bart and I will be accompanying you on this subjugation expedition, so I look forward to working with you.」
「I am Kana. It has turned out to be a sudden departure, but I am in your care.」
「Understood. Now then, about the Magic Box. Personal Status.」
As the mage chanted the words, he made a motion near his chest as if flipping through the pages of a book. It appeared to be a mechanism visible only to him.
「I cannot see it, but is that a book?」
「Yes. It primarily records my physical condition, usable techniques, abilities, and the like. In my case, it also serves as a container to store possessions. For instance, I can store magic tools used in battle, or the Magic Box I am about to show you.」
「Does everyone in this world possess such an invisible book?」
「Indeed. Everyone possesses a Status, and no one other than the individual can view it. However, the form varies from person to person. My Status is what we call a Book Type, taking the shape of a book, but the most common is the Slate Type. On rare occasions, there are Crystal Ball Types as well. In any case, it is said to manifest in whatever form is most familiar to the person.」
Explaining that a slate was a tool made by mounting thinly sliced stone onto a wooden frame—commonly used by young children to practice reading and writing, which made it familiar to most people—Henry pulled something out of thin air. Arranged in four rows vertically and eight horizontally, the squares—each roughly five sun across—looked to Princess Kana like a small paper sliding screen with pictures drawn inside each grid.
「My box is designed so that you can see what is stored inside like this. When you press this section, a single item can be retrieved. The characters in the corner are the names of the items, and the numbers beside them indicate the quantity.」
Inside were portable rations, pots and bedding apparently meant for camping, spare weapons and horse tack, along with oil, wheat, and even potatoes and beans. Looking closely at the spots he pointed out, she could indeed see characters and numbers written there.
「To think so many items could fit inside such a small space—how wondrously convenient! But how do you put it away?」
「You store the Magic Box in the same way you retrieved it. As for the Status, chanting "Close" will make it disappear.」
Listening with deep admiration, emitting an impressed "Ho, ho," the princess turned toward Burley beside her and asked a question.
「Is your "status" something similar?」
「No, mine is the most common vertical Slate Type, so I cannot use storage or Magic Boxes. Such functions are only available to mages who possess vast mana. The average person's Status is usually either a vertical or horizontal Slate Type.」
「I see. In that case, there are a few things I would like to bring along. Master Henry, may I entrust them to you?」
「Of course.」
Upon receiving his ready consent, Princess Kana listed several items. Hearing their names, the commander assured her that most of them were already planned to be carried as relief supplies, so adjusting the quantities would be no trouble at all.
Spurred by Burley's remark that it was nearly lunchtime, Princess Kana returned to her quarters, where she noticed a large book placed on a stand alongside her meal.
「This must be what they referred to as an "illustrated encyclopedia."」
It was a lavish picture book bound in leather not only on the front and back covers, but along its spine as well. Inside were brightly colored depictions of ominous, sinister creatures—a wide variety ranging from beasts resembling wild dogs, monkeys, and boars, to winged creatures and giant lizards. Although the explanatory text beneath the illustrations was written horizontally in characters she had never seen before, the meaning flowed into her mind with surprising ease.
「These are just like evil spirits and monsters of legend. I see now. Indeed, I may well be the right person for this task. However, there are so many varieties. Ah, this one here reminds me of "Tales of a Hundred Monsters from Various Provinces."」
That book was a five-volume illustrated collection of ghost stories containing a hundred tales. It brought back memories of reading it competitively with her elder brother, Yasumasa, who had passed away at a young age. Remembering his boastful face as he bragged about having read more than she had made a heat swell behind her eyes, but she bit her lip and endured it.
「Still, rather than the pest extermination I had envisioned, it seems more accurate to call this monster slaying.」
Having skimmed through the encyclopedia, Princess Kana muttered to herself and decided to test whether she, too, could use this "status" she had seen earlier. In truth, hearing that everyone in this world could use it had made her insatiably curious, though she had been too embarrassed to try it in front of others. She recalled the incantation the mage had chanted.
「Personal status.」
Thereupon, a hanging scroll materialized before her. It was already unrolled by about a shaku, and as she read through the characters inscribed upon it, the read portions automatically rolled themselves up, revealing the next sections one after another.
(Ho, now this is...)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Name: Tsuchimikado Kana
Age: 14 years old
Health: 55 / 62
Divine Power: 2,480 / 2,560
Physical Attack: 95
Physical Defense: 121
Magical Attack: 353
Magical Defense: 322
Agility: 68
Special Abilities (2 Types):
* Clairvoyance & Spirit Vision (Shafukuzoukin-no-Jutsu): Grade 2 — Enables clairvoyance and spirit vision of objects through direct touch.
* Concealment Arts (Ongyou-jutsu): Grade 2 — Invisible barrier spell. Allows one to conceal their own physical form.
Skills:
* Onmyoudou: Grade 1
* Sacred Shinto Dance (Mikagura): Special Grade
* Calligraphy: 2nd Dan
* Archery (Kyuudou): 1st Dan
* Arithmetic: Grade 2
Contracted Beasts:
* Suou: Bears a flame pattern; commands wind and fire. Capable of human transformation and giant transformation. Rank: Kūko (Celestial Fox).
* Kaou: Bears a flower pattern; commands water and plants. Capable of human transformation and large transformation. Rank: Kūko (Celestial Fox).
Item Storage Box (All-Desire Fulfilling Treasure Chest):
* Change of Clothes:
Socks (Tabi): 99 pairs
Sandals (Seta): 10 pairs
Wooden Clogs (Geta): 10 pairs
Nightwear: 10 garments
Under-robes (Hada-juban): 20 for unlined season, 10 for lined season
Full Under-garments (Naga-juban): 10 unlined, 10 lined
Kimonos: Red, Pink, Blue, Black, White, Green (3 patterned items of each)
Formal Trousers (Hakama): Scarlet, Dark Green, Black, White, Pink, Navy (3 pairs of each)
Sashes (Obi), Waist Cords & Accessories: 10 sets
* Writing Brush Cases (Yatate):
Folding-fan shape: 3 for black ink, 3 for vermilion ink
Pull-type Yatate: 5 cases
* Writing Brushes:
Kumano Brushes (Short tip): Large, Medium, Small (50 of each)
* Inks & Inkstones:
Black Ink: Size 5 type (999 sticks)
Vermilion Ink: Size 3 type (999 sticks)
Ogatsu Inkstones: 10
Amehata Inkstones: 10
* Ritual Tools (Folding Fans, Bells, etc.):
Chūkei Fans: 2 (Gold/Silver, Ash-grey)
Hiōgi Fans: 6 (1 for each season: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; 2 auspicious designs)
Kagura Bells: 2 types (Five-color cloth, Crimson tassel)
Hokosaki Bells: 2 types (Five-color cloth, Crimson tassel)
Isuzu Bells: 2 types (Gold, Silver)
* Abacuses & Counting Tools:
Soroban Abacuses: 5
Counting Boards: 2
Counting Rods (Sanki): 2 boxes
* Shikigami & Talismans:
Automatically created using Japanese paper and Divine Power.
Remaining Japanese Paper: 998 bundles, 9 jō, 46 sheets
* Weapons:
Kogitsunemaru (Dagger/Sword)
Ame-no-Makako-yumi (Heavenly Sacred Bow)
Ame-no-Habaya (Heavenly Feathered Arrows)
* Books:
Kokon Sanpōki (Ancient and Modern Mathematics)
Kaisanki (Manual of Mathematics)
Jinkōki (Mathematical Treatise)
* Mysterious Storage Box:
Empty
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
「...I do not quite understand what the numbers near the top signify, but it is reassuring to know I can use Shafukuzoukin-no-Jutsu and Ongyou-jutsu. Though I was taught them, I have never actually put them into practice. Hm, so my shikigami were being crafted automatically? That explains everything.」
Though there were several entries whose meanings eluded her, she ultimately interpreted it as a combination of an official pass and an all-purpose storage chest.
「Looking at this, however, I shall certainly want for nothing in my daily life. Talk about being thoroughly provided for.」
Puzzled as Princess Kana muttered to herself while gazing at her "status," Suou and Kaou peeked in.
「Princess, what are you looking at?」
「We cannot see a thing, though.」
「It is my so-called status. It takes the form of a scroll, and there are things written about the two of you as well.」
「「Oho, about us! Please, by all means, read it to us!!」」
Yielding to the foxes' persistent begging, she read aloud the section written about them. Thereupon—
「「To think our rank is listed as Kūko! How wonderful!」」
When Princess Kana had first received them, the two had been mere Kiko, so learning that their rank had risen brought them immense joy. Watching the foxes make a merry fuss—debating whether the day they became Inari Kūko was near, only to check themselves, saying that would be far too arrogant—she mused to herself:
「Still, I wonder how one retrieves items stored inside the box? Master Norman was pulling them out as though pinching them, yet when I merely thought of wanting a brush case, it appeared right before me. Could this be a difference between a book and a scroll?」
Deciding to test it with a small item first, she focused her mind on wanting a spring-themed hiōgi fan. With a light pop, a folding fan rested atop her hand.
Unfurling it, she saw a pattern of cherry blossoms and butterflies, identical to the one she used during her kagura dance practice. Unbidden, memories of her mother, who used to coach her, surfaced, making her chest tighten with emotion. When she wished for it to return, it vanished, leading her to assume it had gone back into the storage box.
(Truly, a convenient world. This, too, might be the doing of whatever deity assisted in my summoning—a consideration to ensure I want for nothing in my daily life. Not that I have any intention of forgiving the act of summoning me in the first place, mind you. Still, since there are many useful items, if they help with exterminating and purifying the magic beasts, I suppose I shall count it a blessing...)
To ensure that her shikigami could draw a map without hindrance when they returned at dusk, the princess decided to grind the necessary ink, placing three inkstones side by side. One of them was reserved for vermilion ink. Chanting a mantra of purification over the water brought to her by a servant, she ground the ink carefully, adding water little by little.
Just as she finished grinding even the vermilion ink, her shikigami returned one after another. Soaking up ink with their beaks and wings, they began rendering what they had witnessed into a map upon the paper laid out on the table.
Commander Burley, who happened to visit her room just then, widened his eyes in astonishment at the sight. Seeing this, the princess laughed, boasting, 「My shikigami are splendid, are they not?」
Standing before the completed map after roughly half an hour, Princess Kana spoke.
「First is this place, I see. As expected, Clutchfield, which lies in the Kimon—the demon's gate. Then Egerton, which serves as the Ura-kimon. However, this place, Dawkins, poses a massive problem in a completely different sense.」
She knitted her brows as she spoke. Upon the map, the distribution of magic beasts was marked in dots using vermilion ink. Judging by the markings, the magic beasts were concentrated far more in Clutchfield than in Dawkins—overwhelmingly so.
When she asked the commander how requests for aid from various regions were transmitted, he answered:
「Previously, we utilized carrier birds, but as their numbers dwindled due to attacks by magic beasts, we now primarily rely on express couriers riding swift horses equipped with special magical tack treated with beast-repelling wards. Relay stations staffed with fresh riders and horses are stationed at key locations, and reports are delivered to the royal capital via those stations.」
「That seems much the same in any world. Then, how long does it take to travel from here to here?」
When she pointed to the royal capital and Crutchfield, the reply returned that it took roughly a day and a half, provided one encountered no magic beasts.
「Do you know the locations of these relay stations along the route?」
「I do not know the precise details, but there should be roughly eight stations along this highway.」
He pointed to a certain path on the map.
「Then they must pass through here as well. I see, I see. That is why things have turned out this way.」
Princess Kana nodded as though everything made sense now. After gazing at the map for a short while, she spoke again.
「Even so, with magic beasts rampant outside and false reports coming from trusted vassals, William certainly has his hands full. Still, having someone attempt to deceive me is most displeasing. Tell me, Suou, Kaou. There is no need to show mercy to such a person, is there?」
So saying, she flashed a broad, mischievous grin.
Seeing that smile, Burley felt a small pang of pity for the lord of Dawkins.
◇＊◇＊◇＊◇＊◇
Bonus Extra Story: ~The Foxes' Status~
「(Suou) Can we do it too?」
「(Kaou) Let us give it a try!!」
Having heard about "status" from Princess Kana, the two white foxes were curious if they could use it as well. While their master was busy grinding ink, they decided to secretly test it out in a corner of the room. In this regard, master and servants were cut from the same cloth.
「「Personal status!」」
「(Suou) Oho, it appeared! Mine is a scroll, just like the Princess's!」
「(Kaou) Mine as well!」
「(Suou) What could be written upon it...」
「(Kaou) Ooh, seeing it written out in words like this makes me feel tickled pink, even if it is about myself...」
Name: Suou
Age: Unknown
Rank: Kūko (Celestial Fox)
Attributes: Flame and Wind
Techniques:
* Human Transformation (2 types), Giant Transformation
* Zan (Slash)... Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel): Slashes through all creation.
* Baku (Bind)... Kensaku-jutsu (Snare Technique): Binds evil beings. Learned from Kōmokuten (Virūpākṣa).
* Enbaku (Flame Explosion)... Envelops the opponent in flames and burns them to ashes, accompanied by a booming roar.
...
Name: Kaou
Age: Unknown
Rank: Kūko (Celestial Fox)
Attributes: Plants and Water
Techniques:
* Human Transformation (2 types), Large Transformation
* Tō (Freeze)... Freezes all creation.
* Datsu (Strip)... Strips off clothing. Learned from Datsue-ba (The Clothes-Stripping Old Woman).
* Rōbu (Hazy Dance)... Pulverizes the components of any plant and scatters them like dust. Effects vary depending on the plant.
...
Both Suou and Kaou initially gazed at their statuses with great delight, occasionally reading portions aloud, but the moment they reached a certain section, both suddenly fell dead silent. Then, after hesitating for a moment, they both chanted, 「「Close.」」
「(Kaou) ...Well now, I think I shall go for a short stroll...」
「(Suou) I-Is that so? Then I think I shall rest for a bit...」
So saying, Kaou leaped out through the window into the garden, while Suou headed toward Princess Kana's bedchamber. And then, both secretly whispered once more, 「Personal status.」
(Kaou) (Now then, should I mention this, or keep it hidden...)
(Suou) (But if I speak honestly and am asked to share...)
What both were looking at now, as well as the cause of their sudden silence earlier, was the exact same thing—found among the items in both of their inventories.
[Possessions: Lady Akomachi's Favorite—Hermit Realm Brand Deep-Fried Tofu (200 sheets): Beyond delicious; eating a single sheet swells one with power, allowing them to go without food for five years.]
Normally, foxes that reached the rank of Kiko or Kūko had no need for sustenance, but that did not mean they could not eat. On the contrary, miraculous, spiritually imbued food was a feast that heightened their Divine Power all the more.
((The legendary Hermit Realm Brand fried tofu... slurp. Ahh, my mouth won't stop watering. Just one sheet—no, just a tiny nibble off the edge... Once I nibble it, I'll put it right back...))
Both foxes resolved to stop after taking just a tiny bite. Settling on that decision, each pulled out a single sheet and tentatively bit into the edge.
((D-Deliciousーーーーーー!!))
(Suou) ((This indescribably mellow aroma, this profound flavor...))
(Kaou) ((The noble taste that wells forth the more I chew is truly the Hermit Realm Brand...))
In truth, both foxes had intended to merely nibble at the corner, yet before they knew it, each had devoured an entire sheet. What was more—
((Just one more sheet... Just one more...))
Needless to say, a short while later, both ended up polishing off more than ten sheets each, left standing in dumbfounded shock.
*****
Typical Japonese WN/LN, you can't just help but insert RPG elements, can you?
This kind of thing is hard to format in Blogger.
Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby, please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.
OR
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
-Horizontal.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment