Yamiyo no Hotaru

Volume 4 Epilogue

In the year 1440 of the Imperial Era, or at the end of the first decade of the reign of Emperor Seirei, there were several wagons and oxcarts waiting at Oumi's house, and the laborers were loading up the wagons. It was the preparation for Kizuki's family to leave the capital and return to their territory.

　According to the Imperial Court, the 77 local feudal lords (daimyou) and 183 exorcists families under its jurisdiction were required to perform several duties, one of which was a visit to the capital (joraku) for the defense of the capital, which lasted for about six months every three years.

　The Kizuki family accomplished the task in the summer of this year, in the middle of the Mizunashi month (approx. June). In other words, the members of the Kizuki family are forced to leave the capital except for a few who remain in the capital for the next six months.

　The reason for the forced departure is to prevent exorcists, whose terms had expired from staying in the capital, from rebelling against the court with their numbers, as the game's official setting explains. In fact, there is an episode in a spin-off game in which some of the exorcists, including those of the prestigious families, tried to rebel against the rule of the emperor and the higher lords, who did not have the same spiritual power as the servants. However, the rebellion failed due to the despicable trickery of the Minister of the Right at that time, and the whole family including women and children were beheaded and several families of the exorcists were destroyed. In addition, the story is written in such a way that only the reader can understand that even this was a result of the dark activities of the remnants of Kuuban. Seriously, how many behind-the-scenes activities have these guys been doing..?. They've been laying the groundwork for hundreds of years.

　Well, on this very day, the Kizuki family was about to leave the capital after being released from the guardianship of the capital. But...

　"Is it true? Did you really not see me the other day?"

　"Whatever the truth may be, I have no choice but to deny it."

　The purple-haired girl pursues me impatiently as I load the ox cart (already converted into a stray house) with various goods that the Kizuki family has purchased on their way down to the capital.

　"Are you really, really sure that you don't recognize my appearance at that time!?"

　The youngest sister of the Ako family asks me as if she is trying to get me to bite down. Well, Murasaki shows me the same outfit she wore when we met the other day, but I don't admit it. It's not because I'm mean. It's because that's what I'm ordered to do.

　As for the recent incident, the honor of the Tachibana family and the Kizuki family, and the court's respect, the incident itself was concealed from the public, though in the form of a rumor. Of course, the Tachibana family and the Imperial Court were probably undergoing a storm of cleansing, expulsion, and bribery behind the scenes, just by not disclosing it publicly. ...That is why I was also ordered to keep a tight lid on that case. Therefore, I am not allowed to admit that I was in the bookstore, or that the daughter of the Tachibana family was there, or that the two of us were captured by a bunch of idiots.

　"...why don't you ask Princess Aoi or Lord Uemon about it rather than me? It would be clearer if you ask them."