Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentosho (鬼人幻燈抄)

One, eyes drawn to the other side.

Two, the homeland suddenly a long way off.

Three, parents whose faces cannot be seen.

Four, trace the path to the underworld.

Five, they grow farther away over time.

Six, nostalgic for the olden days.

Seven, all the tears dry to nothing.

Eight, and before long...

That's where the song ends.

KAEI YEAR 6 (1853)

E-excuse me!

I'm so sorry, sir! Please forgive my rudeness!

No, I'm the one who should've been watching my step.

Allow me to apologize.

Oh, b-but I...

No need to fret, little lady.

This fella here is Naotsugu Miura-sama,

and while he may be a samurai, he's famous around these parts for having a heart of gold.

Thanks for waiting. Here's your kake-soba.

Thank you kindly.

What's the matter, Naotsugu-sama?

No appetite today or what?

Oh, not exactly. Just a nagging concern, I suppose.

Got something on your mind?

Yes.

Would you lend me an ear, good sir?

Sure. I'll listen to whatever you need to get off your chest.

Thank you.

It's about my older brother, you see...

Whoa, hold your horses!

Don't start talking crazy.

Everybody knows that you're the Miura family heir. There's no way you have an older brother.

No, I am quite certain that I had an older brother!

Ofuu-san?

Y-yes?

Do you know him? Perhaps you've heard of a man by the name Sadanaga Miura?

I'm afraid not.

Well, that figures. Nobody seems to know about my brother.

Not even my parents.

I'm starting to wonder if I've just lost my mind.

Naotsugu-sama. Try and lighten up, okay?

Look, your soba is gonna get cold!

Um, Miura-sama?

Sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds here, but shall I introduce you to a good man for the job?

You know someone?

Yes. I think he might be able to help with your predicament.

Oh, that's right!

Actually, one of our regulars is a fella who loves poking his nose into all sorts of freaky stuff.

You mean to say, he's some sort of diviner or shaman?

Huh?

People who make their living by exorcising evil spirits.

Nah, he's just a ronin!

But for some reason, he goes around resolving strange incidents and mysteries.

For a price, of course.

And I hear he's got sword skills that can slice a demon to ribbons!

Wow.

He may come off as intimidating, but he's a kind man.

Not to mention he has some funny quirks.

He stops by every day to stuff his face with our kake-soba.

Oh, speak of the devil!

Welcome in, pal!

Welcome in.

Kake-soba, please.

Comin' up!

One order of kake-soba!

You're just hooked on our kake-soba, aren'tcha, pal?

No, not really.

There you go again.

Would it kill ya to have a little more tact?

Okay.

The soba here may be plain, but I've developed a soft spot for it.

Now you're talkin'.

Let me pour you some tea.

You've gotten quite good at that.

I should hope so. I've been working to improve a little each day.

And what progress have you made, Jinya-kun?

Fall is the season for sweet osmanthus.

It exudes a very pleasant fragrance,

and starts to bloom beautiful flowers around this time of year.

Yes, that's right!

Plants are pretty fascinating to learn about.

My eyes are drawn to all the flowers on the roadside now.

See, I told you!

Well, now that we've covered all the different seasonal blooms,

I'll teach you about flowers in mythology next.

Sorry to interrupt your conversation.

Um, if I may...

My name is Naotsugu Miura.

Sorry, I realize this may come off as rude,

but I understand you are a man who occupies himself with rumors of demons and other strange phenomenon.

Or so I've heard.

Indeed.

Slaying demons is my livelihood.

Great! Then I bet you can get to the bottom of a mystery for me, yes?

Not necessarily.

Huh?

My expertise is limited to slaying demons.

I'm afraid I won't be of much help unless demons are the cause of your problem.

Sorry.

Oh, I see...

Miura-sama!

Hey, pal. I hate to ask, but couldja find it in your heart to lend Naotsugu-sama a hand?

His dummy of a big brother apparently went missing and now he's worried sick about him, ya see.

Please consider it.

I think losing someone so important has made him very emotionally unstable.

Pretty please!

All right. I suppose I do owe you two a favor.

You seem rather obsessed with this guy.

Well, yeah, he's one of our few regulars.

DANGO

AMAZAKE

TEA

What are you doing here?

Excuse me! May I have an order of tea and isobe mochi?

Coming up!

You like mochi?

Yep.

Huh.

Here is your order.

Thank you.

Yum. This tastes even better when you haven't had it in a while.

On a related note, when are you and Zenji getting married?

Where did that come from?!

You've turned 16 now. That's marrying age.

Okay, but you're crazy if you think I'd marry Zenji.

Is that so?

I imagine Jyuuzou-dono would feel more at ease seeing you married to someone like him.

But Zenji is... you know, more of a brother figure.

Besides, even though my dad has his own ideas for prospective husbands,

he's already told me I'm free to choose for myself.

Granted, from a business perspective, I'm sure he wants me to marry into a samurai or merchant family.

What about you? Don't you want a wife?

Not many women are eccentric enough to wed a ronin without a steady job.

Oh?

I suppose that's true.

But there comes a time when you seriously have to consider settling down.

How old are you, anyways?

Thirty one.

No way! You're older than Zenji?!

You joked about being "immune" to getting old... but, like, what's the actual secret?

Who knows?

I'm putting the money for my bill here!

You're leaving?

Duty calls.

Demons again?

Say, why do you go around hunting demons?

With good swordsmanship like yours, you should be able to find a number of other jobs, no?

I wish I had an answer.

I'm not sure why I'm doing it, myself.

How does that work?

But if I had to give a reason...

it's because this is the only path for me.

I see.

Well, that's kind of a relief to hear.

Hm?

You have such a dry personality that it sometimes feels like you don't care about anything in life.

Honestly, I never knew what to think of you.

But now, I see that even you can be a whiny worrywart.

So you're just another regular guy.

Natsu-dono...

Call me Natsu.

We've known each other long enough now. Being so formal all the time just makes things awkward.