Chương 63: Recognizing Mumei by Her Legs
"What's the matter, Ayame-san~~?"
Kurumi leaned in close, her warm breath tickling Ayame's hair and bringing with it a faint floral fragrance.
Ayame, taking in Kurumi's flawless features and fair, porcelain-like skin, grew more certain this girl had to be a noble lady from a prestigious family. She only seemed to have a particularly mischievous streak.
"Please, show some restraint."
Ayame's voice was soft and timid as she raised her arm to shield herself from Kurumi's advances.
Tall and elegant, Ayame's height surpassed Kurumi's by nearly a head.
"Are you sure you don't want to inspect me~~?" Kurumi's eyes lowered as she adjusted her collar.
"What if I really have been bitten by a Kabane? Then all the blame would be on you."
"With your skills, Miss Tokisaki, I doubt that's possible," Ayame replied calmly. "And, besides, I don't smell any blood on you."
"Oh?" Kurumi's red eyes flicked up to meet Ayame's with an icy intensity.
In that instant, Ayame felt like she'd been plunged into a freezing abyss.
But the moment passed, as if that piercing gaze had been nothing more than a dream.
For some reason, Ayame found herself thinking of a recent rumor: crimson eyes, an omen of death, a harbinger like the Night Owl.
"Ayame-san, maybe you shouldn't be so gentle," Kurumi said as she loosened her posture and turned to leave. "It's a dangerous world out there."
"Oh, by the way—Ayame-san, do you know where I might find a shooting range around here?"
"A shooting range? I can take you to one."
Kurumi was eager to try out the firearms of this world.
··
As the head family of Aragane Station, the Yomogawa family owned the best property in the area.
And as their only heiress, Ayame's personal residence even included a private shooting range.
Kurumi accepted the steam gun and portable boiler from a servant, turning it over in her hands with curiosity.
Steam guns fired lead bullets, which couldn't pierce the steel heart membrane of a Kabane from a distance and were generally only good for pushing them back.
Kurumi raised the steam rifle with one hand and aimed at the heavy armored target.
"Miss Tokisaki, the recoil on a steam rifle is quite strong…" Ayame warned.
The young samurai standing behind Ayame let out a derisive snort. He'd seen plenty of strong-willed warriors who thought they could handle steam guns, only to end up dislocating their shoulders.
But as both Ayame and the samurai watched in shock, Kurumi calmly pulled the trigger.
"Lethal—Shot."
Bang!
Kurumi's hand was impossibly steady, holding the gun as if it had no recoil at all.
The rifle barely kicked up before she adjusted it back into position.
But it wasn't her steady hand that shocked them. While a delicate young woman with superhuman strength was surprising, they'd already witnessed Kurumi's prowess at the station.
The samurai behind Ayame—named Ikoma—stood transfixed by the speed of the bullet Kurumi had just fired. It was impossibly fast and had punched a hole the size of a bowl right through the armored target.
"Good, looks like I can still use my skills." Kurumi placed the rifle down thoughtfully. "This way, I won't have to touch those revolting things."
"I'll find an opportunity to test out if Zafkiel works, too."
··
"Hmm, Ayame-san, I'm off to take a stroll," Kurumi murmured through a yawn, brushing past Ikoma as she sauntered out.
Once she was out of sight, Ikoma hurried to pick up the rifle Kurumi had left behind.
With methodical precision, he loaded a bullet, adjusted the airflow, and took aim.
The recoil shook his shoulder, his hands bracing the rifle in a textbook shooting stance.
The lead bullet struck another target nearby, leaving a blackened mark and a small dent in the armored plate.
"How… is that possible?"
The difference was beyond comprehension, like some kind of impossible sorcery.
——
A few days later, Kenshou Yomogawa himself came to see Kurumi.
The young lady's refined manners and composure were even gentler than Ayame's, causing Kenshou to suspect she was some noblewoman from the shogunate. Though he couldn't think of any major Tokisaki family, he figured it might be an alias.
Satisfied, he handed Ayame a small steam pistol.
"Ayame, my steam pistol's been giving me trouble. When you have a moment, take it to the engineers for repairs."
With that, Kenshou turned to leave, too busy with matters to even stay for a meal.
The Kabane waves were drawing closer, leaving him with an ever-growing list of concerns to manage.
Especially now that… Hayatani Station had officially fallen.
As the primary grain producer in the area, the loss of Hayatani Station would have sweeping consequences.
··
It was only a few days after Kurumi left that Hayatani Station was completely overrun by Kabane.
Blackened and searing, the carnage engulfed the city.
Kurumi was hardly surprised. The samurai there had been even worse than those in Aragane Station, too terrified to even draw their swords and relying on steam guns from a distance.
With Hayatani's fall, however, rumors began to spread even faster.
A death-bringing omen, a harbinger known as the Night Owl, had been spotted.
——
By this time, the Hayajiro, had long left Aragane Station.
The conductor, a kind man, had double-checked to confirm Kurumi was staying behind before they departed.
A skilled jack-of-all-trades, he was known for his knack with almost anything, from combat to photography.
··
On a clear morning, Kurumi yawned as she accompanied Ayame to the engineer's quarters to have her father's pistol repaired.
"Haven't they got servants to run errands like this?" Kurumi strolled lazily alongside Ayame.
"It's best to see to such things personally when possible," Ayame smiled gently.
Ikoma hadn't come along this time, which was probably for the best.
He seemed perpetually on edge around Kurumi, almost as if he thought she might steal his beloved mistress away.
Just as Ayame handed the gun to the chief engineer, voices from the entrance called out.
"Open the west gate!"
"The Koutetsujou has arrived!"
··
The Koutetsujou, expected tomorrow, had arrived early due to the fall of Hayatani Station.
Covered in blood and reeking of iron, the armored steam engine slowly entered the castle grounds and moved into the inspection bay.
"Miss Tokisaki had quite the reaction to this process last time," Ayame remarked with a chuckle as she stood beside Kurumi.
"Though, of course, inspections are essential for the safety of the station."
"Mmm," Kurumi mumbled absentmindedly, her gaze lingering at the end of the Koutetsujou.
There, a young girl in a pink kimono, much like Kurumi's arrival, was stepping off the rear platform.
The short kimono just barely covered her hips, revealing slender, shapely legs as she moved, the soft jingle of bells accompanying her steps.
As Kurumi took in the sight of those delicate, white legs, she suddenly recalled a vision from a dream, fleeting and distant.
With a bandage on his nose, the samurai wore a pained expression as he stared at the little girl who had just leapt down from the rear of the Koutetsujou.
Why was it his sector again?
The last time a "witch" had come off the rear of a train, he'd endured a world of trouble. Not only had he been beaten twice, but they'd also docked his wages for half a month. And now, another one was here.
Still, if he let her slip through, the consequences might be even worse.
"Hey! You, over there, the kid! The exit's on the other side!" He gripped his steam gun tightly, a nervous feeling rising within him.
The little girl in the kimono looked only around eleven or twelve. A yellow ribbon held her black hair in two short ponytails, her amber eyes gleaming brightly. A slender blue cord, almost like a collar, adorned her neck, and her pink kimono was cinched with a red sash.
Only her figure seemed too well-developed for her age, and her slender legs glistened with a moonlit sheen in the sunlight. She was playing with a kendama in her hand, looking every bit like an innocent child.
The samurai uncle breathed a sigh of relief. Not every girl off the train would be some kind of witch. But still, her fine attire meant he ought to speak respectfully.
Jingle, jingle.
The bells at her feet went silent as she stopped and turned to look at him.
"Even little kids have to be inspected!" He tried his best to force a smile, though it came out more as a grimace, his face scrunched up in a fierce-looking grin as he held his steam gun.
Thunk.
The kendama's ball hit him square on the nose, and he froze in pain.
The little girl spun the kendama around in circles, and it reminded him of that other "witch." His face immediately fell into a grim expression.
"When judging people, relying on appearances is the stupidest thing you can do." The girl toyed with the kendama in her hands. "That's what my brother told me, Mr. Beard~~"
The samurai's thoughts soured. I can't handle this! Why did they always come through his post?
"I..."
The samurai's face looked utterly defeated, as if he could already see half a month's wages slipping away.
"Enough; that person is my guest."
Kenshou Yomogawa, the head of the Yomogawa household, walked over, accompanied by Kurumi, who wore a serene smile, and Ayame, who looked as composed as ever.
"M-Master!" Relief flooded through the samurai at the sight of his savior.
"You're the head honcho here?" the girl asked, tilting her head up to look at Kenshou.
"I am Kenshou Yomogawa, the head of the Yomogawa family." He placed his right hand to his chest and gave a small bow to the girl.
"Lord Yomogawa, thank you for your hospitality," a tall, muscular man in a white robe and hood greeted him as he moved past the samurai to bow before Kenshou. A long staff wrapped in linen was in his hand, with a rubber hose extending from its end and disappearing into his robe, a weapon clearly enhanced by steam.
"Ah, Lord Shiwen."
The two men started a round of formal greetings.
Meanwhile, Kurumi leaned in close to the girl, smiling sweetly with her hands folded behind her back, peering down at her.
As her beautiful face came nearer, carrying a delicate fragrance, the girl shifted back, a hint of gold glinting under her bangs as she leaned away.
"Were you the one who wished for me?" Kurumi whispered softly, close to the girl's cheek.
"Huh??" The girl looked at her, stunned.
"Hmm, don't understand yet?" Kurumi straightened up, looking thoughtfully at the girl. When she had leaned closer just now, she'd felt a faint bond, almost like a contract.
No, it was more like the relationship between a deity who answers wishes and a person who offers them.
"Well then, could you tell me your name?"
The girl seemed dazed, as if still wrapped in the sweet, alluring scent.
"Ah... I'm Mumei," she replied with a little twirl, as if showing off.
"Nice, right? My big brother gave me that name."
"Mumei…" Kurumi murmured, rolling the alias over on her tongue. She felt a powerful intuition that Mumei's real name held significance, for both her and Mumei.
··
After Kenshou Yomogawa and Mumei's companion finished their conversation, they led the two of them to the residence in the heart of Aragane Station.
Kurumi followed with a smile, her gaze never leaving Mumei, which stirred a strange feeling in Ayame's chest.
It was almost like… Kurumi had found a new plaything.
But at that moment, a commotion broke out behind them.
It seemed that one of the ordinary passengers from the Koutetsujou had been found with an injury. Panicking, he broke free and ran.
Normally, they would have simply thrown him into a cell for observation for three days, and he would be released if there was no transformation. But this incident was now beyond such formalities.
The samurai closed in, ready to kill him on the spot, but a steam engineer rushed forward, shielding the injured man.
"Cowards!"
"If someone is suspected of being a Kabane, you detain them for three days to check, right? That's the rule you samurai put in place yourselves."
"Shut up!" one of the samurai yelled.
Thwack!
The gun's butt struck the engineer, and several soldiers began to beat him.
"Who are you to interfere, you lowly steam engineer?"
"Can't you see you've got your guns pointed at the wrong target?" the green-haired engineer growled.
··
Kenshou's face darkened as he watched the display in front of Lord Shiwen, the Shogun's emissary. It was an embarrassing sight for a station under his command.
Meanwhile, Mumei placed her hands behind her head, watching Kurumi with a curious smile as she tilted her head back to look up at her.
Kurumi's expression was gentle, but her wine-red eyes were utterly cold.
"Well? What do you think of all this?" Mumei asked, curious to see what this seemingly gentle person thought.
"Oh, Mumei was asking me?" Kurumi's stunning red eyes narrowed.
"You're just fishing for compliments," Mumei muttered, her geta clacking on the ground with each step, leaving scratches as sharp as metal on the stone. "Yes, yes, I'm asking you."
"They're all just trash," Kurumi replied, a chilling smile forming on her lips.
"Samurai who dare not draw their swords. Samurai who point their guns at civilians."
"Powerless fools who are all talk."
"They're all… simply trash."
Her soft, almost bewitching tone was laced with an icy edge, giving both the Yomogawa head and the Shogun's emissary a new impression of her.
··
The situation finally ended with a gunshot.
The injured civilian had tried to escape while the steam engineer was being beaten, but outrunning a gun was impossible.
Trying to flee from a heavily guarded place was a crime in itself.
Alongside the "overly righteous" engineer, he too was taken into custody.
"He's suspected of being a Kabane," Kenshou said, sentencing him to three days of confinement.
··
As things finally wrapped up, the bandaged samurai sighed with relief, thinking he was safe.
But just then…
"That incident just now happened in your sector," an annoyed superior glared at him.
"You're getting docked another half-month's pay."
··
Unlucky!
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