Chapter 33 - Jōkyō 3 (1686), Part Four

Jōkyō 3, Sixth Month

About ten days had passed since Princess Kana received her divine messengers, and today, as always, the area around the princess’s room was lively.

The curious fox cubs found the things of the human world fascinating. They took an interest in everything they saw and constantly asked the princess questions.

“What is this?”

“Princess, what is this used for?”

“I hear some kind of sound! What is that?!”

Each time, the princess patiently answered as best she could with the knowledge she possessed. However—

“Princess, what is this?”

“Ah, there’s none left! Saki, where is mine?”

Seeing Kaō ask while chewing away, Suō hurriedly peered at the plate in front of Kaō and began making a fuss.

Apparently, while they had briefly been out of the room, Kaō had polished off the snacks that had been prepared.

“…I believe those were mitarashi dango. Since they are already entirely inside Kaō’s stomach, I cannot say for certain.”

Beside Princess Kana, who stared dumbfoundedly at the two empty skewers lying on the plate, Saki giggled and set out two plates, each holding two skewers of dango.

“Your portions are right here, both of you. Now, please help yourselves.”

Divine messengers did not actually need to eat, but the fox cubs had become extremely fond of Saki’s snacks and looked forward to this time after lessons every day.

That day had been a calligraphy lesson with old Jirō, but Kana had accidentally splattered ink onto Suō’s tail. She had therefore gone to the washing area accompanied by Natsume, who carried Suō, and they had only just returned.

“Kaō, from now on, wait until I return before eating. And Suō, do not make such a fuss.”

As she spoke, the princess placed one plate in front of herself and the other in front of Suō. Suō happily sniffed at the food, his nose twitching, then bit into a skewer.

“What a wonderfully savory aroma. Is this s-o-y s-a-u-c-e?”

“Correct.”

“Normally it would be only soy sauce, but Saki’s dango also use mirin. That gives them a faint sweetness.”

The princess likewise savored the dango, whose slightly charred soy-sauce aroma and saltiness blended exquisitely with the sweetness of the mirin.

“Oh! As expected, our princess knows so very much.”

Kaō sounded impressed, and Suō nodded vigorously in agreement. Both skewers of his dango were already entirely inside his stomach. Then the two foxes simultaneously fixed their gazes upon the single skewer remaining on the princess’s plate.

Until now, whenever the fox cubs adorably begged her for some, Princess Kana had invariably ended up sharing her own portion with them. But she had eaten only one skewer herself and still felt somewhat unsatisfied. As she wondered what to do, old Jirō returned from putting away the textbooks in the archive. Apparently noticing Natsume carrying a tray with tea and a plate of dango, the fox cubs immediately turned their attention toward her.

(Now is my chance.)

The princess swiftly picked up her remaining skewer and succeeded in swallowing three of its five dumplings. She then placed one of the remaining two into each fox’s plate.

Apparently satisfied that their mistress had shared with them, the fox cubs happily devoured the dumplings placed before them.

Once they finished, they moved over to the cushions Natsume had handmade for them. The cushions had been remade from one of Princess Kana’s old kimono and, unusually for cushions, were stuffed mostly with buckwheat husks.

Lying atop the cushions, which made a crunching rustle whenever they moved, the fox cubs began discussing their next snack with old Jirō.

“I believe kusa-mochi is best.”

“I say ohagi is the finest choice!”

“Steamed yōkan is excellent as well. The sweetness of amazura syrup together with the flavor of azuki beans is simply indescribable.”

“It is hot today, so I made kuzumochi.”

The room’s shōji facing the garden had been opened wide to let the breeze through after the garden was sprinkled with water. Into it came plates bearing two cool-looking translucent kuzumochi, through which the bean paste inside could faintly be seen.

After Saki placed a plate before everyone, Natsume held out a tray bearing cups for Princess Kana and old Jirō, saying that she had cooled the tea as well.

“This is wonderful. It slips right down!”

“It is cold and delightfully chewy!”

Judging by how quickly the fox cubs finished that day’s snack as well, it appeared to be another great success. Watching them, the princess used a kuromoji pick to press through the springy kuzumochi and bring pieces to her mouth. Then she decided to ask Suō and Kaō something she had been wondering about for some time.

“Come to think of it, Lady Akomachi told me that you two were training in the Immortal Realm. What sort of things did you do there?”

“I am glad you asked! I learned to float!”

“I learned to dive!”

Suō demonstrated by floating gently into the air, while Kaō bounded into the garden and sank straight into the ground. With only his face protruding above the surface, Kaō then began gliding smoothly along as though swimming through the earth.

“Both of those are remarkable. So those are the sorts of things they teach in the Immortal Realm?”

Impressed, old Jirō clapped his hands and praised them. Encouraged, the fox cubs became even more enthusiastic.

“We can do many other things too!”

“We shall show you somewhere spacious!”

At their insistence, everyone moved into the garden.

“Please watch!”

“Like this!”

Suō caused a length of coarse rope lying in a corner of the garden to extend smoothly all the way up onto the roof, while Kaō made three spheres of water, each about the size of a child’s head, float in midair.

Just then, her elder brother Yasumasa happened to pass by with several of the other prospective trainees.

“Your divine messengers are impressive, Kana. They can do things like this?”

“I have only just learned of it myself. Brother, are you on your way to training?”

“Yes. Today we are being taught how to manage and supervise the water clocks. They will also be unveiling the one that was recently rebuilt.”

The Tsuchimikado family always maintained at least two water clocks, using them together with sundials so that the time could constantly be measured without error. However, because the work had to continue day and night, it was apparently quite demanding.

The moment the fox cubs heard the unfamiliar term “water clock,” they immediately reacted.

“What is a water clock?”

“Princess, I want to see it too!”

At their voices, Matsuba and Kaede poked their heads out from behind Yasumasa. They were about one size larger than Suō and Kaō, and both were “color-bearers,” with faintly colored fur running from the centers of their foreheads toward both ears. Matsuba’s was fresh green, while Kaede’s was pale scarlet.

“Suō, Kaō. You must not be selfish. We are beings who serve.”

Matsuba admonished them.

“And you must not interfere with lessons.”

Kaede added. Both spoke quietly, but their expressions were completely serious rather than their usual gentle ones. Moreover—

“Kana. I understand that they are adorable, but properly teaching and guiding them is also a master’s duty. If all you ever do is indulge them, you will fail to maintain the proper relationship between master and servant.”

Princess Kana herself ended up receiving a warning from her brother as well. She was certainly aware that she had done nothing but dote on them ever since the naming ceremony. In her defense, her father had told her that spending the first month building a close relationship with them was important. Even so—

(He is right. Becoming close to them is not the same as giving in to their every demand or spoiling them.)

Realizing this, she obediently bowed her head.

“My, Lord Yasumasa. You certainly have matured.”

“Old Jirō? I am merely trying to set a proper example as her elder brother.”

Yasumasa answered with a slight frown. Old Jirō, meanwhile, looked strangely amused.

“Yes, yes. Of course you are.”

Old Jirō laughed as he said it, and later secretly told Princess Kana the reason: apparently, immediately after Yasumasa had received his divine messengers, he had been even more indulgent toward them than Kana was now.

He had given them snacks whenever they asked, taken them everywhere with him, and eventually brought them to see the water clocks. There, Matsuba had fallen into the lowest water tank and broken the graduated arrow used to indicate the water level.

As a result, Yasumasa had received a severe scolding from his father, while Matsuba and Kaede had been thoroughly reprimanded by Fūka and Ruka.

(I see. So both Brother and those two were speaking from personal experience.)

Remembering the expression on her brother’s face as he left, the princess began thinking, in her own way, about what the relationship between herself and the fox cubs ought to be as master and servants.

(They were pattern-bearers!)

Remembering the scene he had witnessed earlier, Tomonobu’s heart filled with jealousy and anger. Sitting in the middle of his room, he clenched both fists and ground his teeth.

Although it was called his room, it was merely one of the quarters provided for prospective trainees: a crude wooden-floored room only about one ken square. Except for those whose homes were close enough for them to commute, all prospective trainees lived in rooms with the same layout. There was at least a storage chest and a writing desk, but because of them, once a futon was laid out, there was barely enough room left to walk.

The residents were permitted to lay their own tatami mats over the floor, so Tomonobu’s room was covered in tatami, but it was still far from comfortable. Furthermore, the walls consisted of little more than a single layer of boards, so sounds from the neighboring rooms carried straight through.

That was precisely why Tomonobu clenched his back teeth and desperately restrained himself from shouting. If it became known that he had been screaming insults about the household’s princess, his position would unquestionably worsen.

Akomachi had said that she would give Kana special divine messengers, but Kana was still only a little girl. Tomonobu had assumed they would be no better than “color-bearers,” the rank immediately below “mark-bearers.” Even that, he had thought, would be far more than she deserved.

And yet—

(Those patterns were so distinct that, even among Lady Akomachi’s retainers, only those standing in the very front ranks possess markings like them…)

Even Yasutomi, head of the Tsuchimikado family, had divine messengers who were merely “mark-bearers.”

(And a child like her gets them. A girl who cannot even become an Onmyōji!)

Thud!

He slammed both fists against the tatami.

“Keep it down!”

A prospective trainee in the neighboring room shouted angrily, but even that only intensified Tomonobu’s resentment toward Princess Kana.

He had accepted that the cramped wooden room and his present circumstances were, to some extent, unavoidable. But—

(Divine messengers of that caliber are completely wasted on her! Divine messengers can only display their true abilities when serving an Onmyōji in the first place. Yet they have been given to some little girl whose only talent is pampering them like pets!)