Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

12. The Promised flower festival (2)

Translated by: S3

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It was said that by entering a cave gaping open on the mountainside of the Prata Mountain Range—a chain of jagged peaks soaring high above the clouds—and walking deep into the earth, one would reach the country inhabited by the Dragonewts.

It was also said that once a person entered, they would never see the sunrise again. To cross the line separating the dwellings of humans and Dragonewts, even on the same continent, meant death.

It was an unspoken rule for all races, not just the Dragonewts, to avoid intermingling.

To prevent this rule from being forgotten, human nations sometimes established prohibitions.

The Underground Empire of Zilba, deep within the cave, received no sunlight, day or night.

At the appointed time, colossal torch-stands erected throughout the land would be lit, and activities would begin, and the flames would be extinguished at their end.

When the fires were extinguished, darkness would fall, but the fluorite embedded in the rock would begin to twinkle, transforming the scene into what looked like a sky full of stars.

For the Dragonewts, who lived in mountains perpetually buried in snow, the outside world was a place they would not venture into unless they had business there.

And in their peaceful underground life, unaffected by weather and regulated by the comfortable warmth of the active magma deep below and the flames of the torch-stands, there was virtually no business that required them to go outside.

About a year ago, the royal family of this country was blessed with the good fortune of receiving a new life.

Perhaps because the lifespan of Dragonewts was many times longer than that of humans, opportunities to receive new life were rare.

It was customary for relatives, whether noble or commoner, to celebrate day and night whenever an egg was laid.

For the royal family, it became a celebration involving the entire nation.

However, now, with the hatching period of the egg imminent, the nation of Zilba was eerily quiet, and everyone was steeped in grief.

A while ago, both the Queen and the unborn egg began showing symptoms of Magic Affliction Disease.

It was a common disease in human countries, but it was rare among the Dragonewts, and no cure was known.

Fortunately, there are eccentrics and oddities in every world, and a reclusive Dragonewt elder who had contact with the outside world knew that the disease had a cure there.

Clutching at straws, they followed many leads and succeeded in contacting the Beast Tribe residing in the outside world.

The Beast Tribe provided medicinal herbs, and the Queen’s Magic Affliction Disease improved day by day.

But the joy was only halfway there.

「Unfortunately, medicinal herbs must be taken orally. Since they must be drunk, there is no way to administer them to the egg.」

The Beast Tribe member they invited provided a sufficient amount of herbs but stated he had no way to save the new life.

The King instantly lunged at the Beast Tribe member, and his vassals drew their blades to threaten him. It was at that moment:

「It cannot be helped. That child’s fate must have been sealed. If you show any disrespect to my savior, you know what will happen, don't you?」

The Queen summarily dismissed the hostility directed at their guest by the King, the vassals, and the entire populace.

The Queen’s survival alone was a miracle in Zilba. To resent their benefactor was entirely misguided.

Feeling their life was in danger, the Beast Tribe member quickly left Zilba before the subject could change.

A young man watched this entire sequence, clenching his fist alone. He was Elliot Zilba, the First Prince of Zilba.

Elliot had been looking forward to the birth of his sibling for a very long time. He believed that if his mother was saved, there must be a way for the egg as well.

That's why he was furious at his mother’s words, who sent away the one lead they had and said it was an inevitable fate for the egg to return to the heavens.

「Mother is heartless.」

Fuming, Elliot went to the Queen’s room alone. But the Queen was not there. After searching everywhere, he found her at the royal family’s tomb. The Queen was kneeling and praying there for as long as time allowed.

What he heard was her own inadequacy, her apologies, and her repentance. Her powerlessness over the fact that she was saved while her child was dying.

「Please, please save that child. Please bestow upon me a method.」

Elliot, too, had been eagerly anticipating the birth. His mother felt the same way. He realized that it was precisely because she was the mother who gave birth to the egg that she was tormented by the self-reproach of only being able to birth it in such a state.

—How could I have thought she was fine?

She had to be the one suffering the most. His mother was surely suffering more than the King who lashed out at the Beast Tribe member, more than the vassals, and more than the people.

Because he and everyone around him failed to show consideration for the Queen, they forced the word 「It cannot be helped」 from her own lips.

If someone hadn't stopped them, they would have abused their benefactor.

「We are the heartless ones.」

In the end, Elliot couldn't figure out what to say and left the area.

Before he knew it, he was in the baby room deep inside the castle, rocking the egg in his arms.

The egg, which was initially a glossy milky white when laid, was now halfway deformed and had turned gray.

「I can’t do anything. I'm a useless older brother. I'm sorry.」

What had he done? He had prayed to the heavens, clung to the invited Beast Tribe member, and resented the benefactor who saved his mother.

Finally, he was on the verge of raging at and blaming his mother for giving up.

He only wished to help but hadn't acted. From the start, Elliot had been ignorant, powerless, and useless.

The surging anger should be directed at himself. More effort should be spent on moving and searching on his own, for then, surely—

「Then I won't have to say 「It cannot be helped」, like Mother—」

The rest of the words were cut off by a sob. He couldn't possibly feel that it couldn't be helped. He was simply sad. A life that was supposed to be born was being taken away. He was frustrated with his own inability to do anything.

At that moment, the egg in his arms moved slightly, as if to encourage Elliot.

「But you're still alive.」

Yes, it was alive.

The egg still in Elliot's hands had not given up. It was alive.

「Today is the full moon in the flower calendar, isn’t it? It’s when space warps and connects. Should I go back to that benefactor one more time?」

He had been told there was no other way, but he didn't want to say 「It cannot be helped」 to this egg.

He wanted to stay by its side, struggle, and do something for it until the moment its life ran out.

「Because you haven’t given up.」

He stripped the sheet off the baby crib and gently wrapped the egg within it.

Holding the egg securely, Elliot vanished into the darkness of the night.

***

A particularly large full moon shone in the night sky.

The scent of flowers drifted everywhere, and festival music could be heard in the distance. Stalls were haphazardly lined up, some just mats laid out, and the vendors were busy preparing to open.

A boy pulling a cart laden with sacks full of medicinal herbs reached the front of the shop he would be working at. He hugged the load, which was about his own height, and busily carried it inside.

Today was one of the five busiest times of the year. He didn’t know if that was a lot or a little, but as he was accustomed to the trade, he was determined to earn a lot this time as well.

After moving everything, he pulled off his deeply-worn hood and wiped the sweat from his brow.

The two pointy ears on his head twitched frantically to catch sounds, and his tail occasionally peeked out from under the hem of his long haori.

Many of the people passing in front of the boy’s stall were also wearing hoods over their heads to conceal their appearances.

One of them stopped in front of the shop. Without speaking, they pointed to a certain burlap sack and, with the other hand, offered a crystal the size of a fist.

The boy chose one of the differently sized sacks and thrust it forward to the customer. When the customer nodded, the boy filled the sack with medicinal herbs and tightly tied the opening with hemp string. He took the crystal as he handed the sack to the customer.

The transaction was complete, and the customer left.

The boy did not make eye contact with the customer once and placed the received payment into the pouch hanging at his waist.

This was the Black Market (Yamiichi), where those who greedily sought goods came using temporal distortions. The people walking about were truly diverse, including Beastfolk, Kijin, and humans.

The boy lived in a certain village in the Nogre Forest and was named Gin.

Normally, he cultivated medicinal herbs in the forest and harvested them when the time came, and all the villagers would set up shop at the Black Market.

In this way, the entire village lived closely knit, like a family.

Gin, at the age of thirteen, had refined his skills enough to be entrusted with running the shop alone. He handled fewer goods than the adults, but since his peers were only helping the adults at their stalls, he was very proud to be left in charge by himself.

「I made sure to gather all the medicinal herbs she would want. I hope she comes soon.」

There was a girl who came to meet him for every festival. Since she was his age and always gave him something special as payment, Gin looked forward to her visits immensely.

Customers came one after another, and the medicinal herbs Gin brought quickly sold out.

When the bottom of the prepared sacks began to show, Gin closed the shop and hurried off to get additional merchandise.

It would be terrible if his waiting person came while he was gone.

He finished restocking and reopened the shop, but the person he was waiting for showed no sign of arriving.

*****

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