Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 86

　"I never wanted to give birth to you."

　These were the last words the ezo girl heard from her mother, who was about to die.

　The Fusō-kuni, which is outside of their ruling territory, is home to the Ezo, an indigenous people who live in the land of Mutsu in eastern region. However, they are not a homogeneous group. In fact, the Ezo themselves do not have a strong sense of being fellow peoples, despite being called so by the government. They often compete with each other for the control of spiritual energy veins, water sources, mines, farmland, food, and slaves.

　Just like at that time, when the Sakaki Black Wolf clan, who are Ezo of the Mutsu region, were defeated by the Akiba Blue Duck clan and the Saeki White Dog clan, who received military and iron support from the government. Because of this, the Sakaki clan fled to the borderlands and eventually built a hidden village in the mountains. Therefore, they had a strong grudge against the Fusō-kuni, who were pushing for the conquest of the northeast, and they often intervened during disturbances at the Imperial Court, even cooperating with the rebel forces of the time.

　"Well, it's not like it's a big deal now."

　For Iruka, who was born to a woman who was a slave from the Fusō-kuni and a man from her tribe, and was purchased by bandits, her mother's last words were not surprising at all. In fact, she could predict it from the treatment she received in her mother's village and from their attitudes towards her. It was really a story that was too late to be told.

　...However, it did hurt her a little bit, even though it wasn't anything serious.

　At any rate, Iruka, who was not yet ten, was very optimistic for her age. And her natural strength of spirit did not allow her to give up. Nor did she care about her mother's grudge. As long as she doesn't turn out to be a monster, it's nothing to be concerned about.

　The present and the future were more important to her. She had no intention of accepting the same miserable, helpless, and humiliating fate as her mother. But the path a slave brat can take in this small village is limited.

　Through hard work and twists and turns, she found her way as a tribal spy. Because of the small population and the dangers of the dirty work involved, tribal agents were always in short supply.

　Fortunately, Ryuuto, Iruka's mentor, was a skilled warrior with ample combat experience and a broad understanding of the world. He was able to raise his disciples without being confined by their social status, even though he was very strict with them to the point of causing them to vomit blood. However, at least she was not treated unfairly, as Iruka recognizes. It can be seen that she was not the only one who affectionately called him Osiki.

　...It was shortly after she had acquired sufficient counterintelligence skills that she was subjected to the semi-youkai-ization procedure.

　The youkai wolf that had attacked the village just before was finally defeated with the help of the entire village, and its flesh and bones were dissected to be used as precious materials for rituals and curse tools. The problem, however, was the power of the youkai.

　It could be called a wolf god instead of a dog god. The curse of the youkai wolf, a kind of a curse, did not disappear even after its body was destroyed, and it brought various disasters to the village. The village, however, was troubled, especially the elders, who were reluctant to simply exorcise it, since they regarded the wolf as sacred, as their clan was named after it. Above all, it is a great youkai-class curse. So, they wanted to utilize it effectively if possible.