Yashiro the Blind

Yashiro was taken aback.

“Because there is indeed a rather large temple ahead, but… I don’t know if it’s the Ryutai Temple that you mentioned, brother.” Hatsune was quite meticulous.

"Doesn't it have a plaque or any other sign?" the girl asked.

"Yes."

"That……"

"But Chuya doesn't know how to read!" The words were righteous and resounding.

"Okay... okay."

In an era when compulsory education was out of the question, and even the basic concept of literacy was still in its infancy, it was perfectly normal for a child from an ordinary family to be illiterate; there was nothing to say about it.

The girl changed the subject, took off the bamboo tube from her waist, moistened her throat with the cool spring water, and then handed it to Chuya to take a couple of sips as well. Just as she was about to take it back, she suddenly paused slightly.

But as the spring breeze shifted, it brought with it two arguing voices.

The voices seemed to be coming from the direction of the farmland a little further away. They were all very young, sounding even younger than the first sprouts, and they were arguing about something.

With a touch of curiosity, she focused her attention and listened intently to their conversation. However, the next second, when she understood the content of their argument, Yashiro was stunned:

"—So, the sun is actually closer to us now, and farther away in the morning!"

"No, no, you're wrong. The sun is actually closer to us in the morning, but it's farther away now!"

……

Has she... time-traveled again?

……

Chapter Sixteen Between Right and Wrong

For a moment, listening to the two arguing so familiarly, Yashiro couldn't help but wonder if he had traveled through time again—what was this called, Yashiro's second time?

This seems rather unlucky...

But she quickly realized something was wrong. First, the two were still speaking Japanese, with a heavy local accent from Tōtōmi. There wasn't a tall, cheerful person nearby watching. The two children hadn't even exchanged a few words before they were already arguing back and forth, getting so angry they were practically pulling each other's hair.

"...I told you, look up at the sun in the sky! It's so round, so bright, and so big. Look at it this morning, it's obvious that it's closer to us now!"

"So you're wrong, I think it's clearly..."

"And have you forgotten what the mage just said? Even the mage thinks so, how could he be wrong!"

"but……"

Even though he had already withdrawn his attention and stopped focusing on the argument on the other side, the two people's voices still occasionally reached his ears. Yashiro shook his head, lost in thought.

The "masters" they mentioned likely refer to the monks of Longtai Temple—incidentally, "master" here is a respectful term for monks and has nothing to do with the bearded old men next door who can conjure fireballs and bread with their bare hands...

Of course, to some extent, there will indeed be people on both sides engaging in hand-to-hand combat with sticks, so let's not be too picky about that.

In modern Japan, there is no such thing as a private school. People of the samurai class would usually send their children to nearby temples for education. Some of these temples would also teach children from commoner families. The teaching was basically just simple basic instruction, which can be considered the prototype of the temple school in the Edo period. However, naturally, it was far inferior to the latter in terms of scale, number, or scope of teaching content.

I don't know if these two children are from samurai families or ordinary commoners... In any case, it has nothing to do with me.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, she didn't even bother asking for directions and was about to continue on her way when, after taking only two steps, two pairs of eyes suddenly turned to look at her.

"Since we can't reach an answer between the two of us, let's go ask someone else!"

"it is good!"

The two sides were initially quite a distance apart, and the children weren't speaking particularly loudly, so normally they wouldn't be easily heard. However, since she had already heard them, Yashiro couldn't simply ignore it. Besides, in the short time she paused, the two children had already come running towards her barefoot.

"Hey--"

"Traveler over there, please wait a moment!"

Now we have no choice but to wait.

Hearing their shouts, the first sprout, nestled in the bamboo basket, poked its little head out and looked around curiously, its eyes meeting those of the two children running towards it.

"Oh, there's a little girl behind her!"

"Wait, she's a woman too..."

Perhaps because Yashiro had short hair, had been running around for most of the night, and had even slept in the ruins after the fire, her face and body were covered in dust, so the two children mistook her gender from a distance. Only when they got closer and saw the girl's features did they realize the difference.

The two of them suddenly became awkward.

Subconsciously, they tugged at their dirty short-sleeved shirts and scratched their tangled hair. One of the boys even frantically wiped his snot from his nose. When he spoke again, he couldn't help but stammer, "Um, traveler sister, we want to ask you a question!"

"Okay, what's the problem?" Since you can't hit someone who's smiling, Yashiro softened his tone and asked with a smile.

“It’s the sun in the sky, what do you think…” The man was about to speak when his companion suddenly elbowed him. He turned around and glared at him angrily, “What are you doing!”

But the other child didn't say anything, he just gestured with his hands, pointing back and forth at Yashiro's closed eyes, then at himself, and kept shaking his head.

The child who had been elbowed blinked, paused for a moment, then quickly realized what had happened: "Um, no, it's nothing... Oh, right! I wanted to ask about the little girl behind you!"

"Ask me?" Chuya was taken aback.

"That's right. Do you think the sun in the sky is closer to us at noon or farther away in the morning?"

"Wait a minute, aren't you saying the same thing both times? Let me ask you this: was it closer to us in the morning, or farther away at noon?!"

"Aren't you the same!"

They were arguing and bickering. They were supposed to ask Hatsune a question, but instead they started arguing themselves.

Chuya looked bewildered and couldn't find an opportunity to interject with a question. She was frowning in distress when suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. She looked up immediately, her face full of surprise.

On the other side, the two children were still arguing about a topic that was getting further and further off track, unaware of the figure slowly approaching, until the other person reached out and grabbed them by the back of the neck with one hand each, and lightly lifted them up: "Alright, that's enough."

A gentle voice came from above.

The two boys initially tried to struggle, but upon hearing the sound, they immediately became as docile as frogs being stared at by a snake, hanging their heads and remaining quiet and silent, with only their eyes darting around.

"Being attentive is a good thing, and discussing what we've learned in class is also good, but arguing about it is not. Especially when you drag others into it, that's even worse, understand?"

"Understood……"

"I know I was wrong..."

The two answered in hushed tones.

"Very good, so what should you do after you realize you were wrong?"

As she spoke, the person released her hands and placed the two children back on the ground. The two looked at each other, then obediently bowed their heads to Yashiro, apologizing in unison, "Sister, we're so sorry—" "Sorry for stopping you!" "—We're so sorry!"

It doesn't seem to be very complete.

After Yashiro replied that it was alright and received permission from the visitor, the two children shouted and ran towards the farmland.

As the sound of muddy footsteps faded into the distance, the girl smiled with her head down, then heard the gentle voice say, "Sorry, those two were a bit naughty, did they offend you?"

“What offense? Among the children I’ve met, these two are already considered very sensible and polite.” Yashiro paused, then asked curiously, “Are these two from samurai families?”

"One is the third son of the Okuyama family, and the other is a child from a nearby village."

"Um..."

"I know what you're trying to say. You think it's incredible that two people of such different social status can get along like this, right?"

Seeing that Yashiro nodded in agreement, the man smiled slightly and explained, "This is my master's philosophy, that worldly things should not be brought into the Buddhist Pure Land. Although, when they grow up, they will most likely become like their parents, with a thick barrier between them... but at least now, compared to differences in status and position, they still have more to learn and more to learn."

"Things we should learn, such as... when is the sun closer to us and when is it farther away?"

The man chuckled softly, "Hehe... Every time after I finish telling this story, the children always have their own opinions and argue endlessly, giving the senior brothers in charge of disciplining them a real headache. But my master has also said that the issue itself is not important, and there is no right or wrong."

"What's important isn't when the sun is farther away from us or when it's closer, but the process by which children think and arrive at their own answers, like fish and fishing rods. As long as the latter is there, the former will naturally keep coming... He always had many unusual and wonderful ideas. Just listen to them and don't delve into them."

Along with the voice, there was a rustling sound of clothes rubbing together, and the prayer beads wrapped around his hands clinked together a few times. As they drew closer, a strange fragrance mixed with the scent of tea and sandalwood wafted over him, instantly calming Yashiro's mind, which had been suffering from the scorching sun.

"—Benefactor, we meet again."

The tall woman she had met once at the bandit camp now stood before her, hands clasped together, smiling as she spoke.

However, compared to the fierce killing intent of that night and the lingering strong smell of blood, the woman standing in front of her now seemed to have sheathed all her sharpness, as if she had transformed from a drawn sword into a piece of warm and soft jade, her brilliance restrained and unseen.

Yashiro subconsciously loosened her grip on the staff.

The reason she dared to attack without warning that night was because she was certain that her opponent could withstand the sword strike.

Although she was combative, she was not bloodthirsty.

After slaughtering an entire camp of bandits, the murderous aura emanating from the other party was enough to stir up a certain restless, uncontrollable desire within the young girl's heart...

However, she could not smell any blood on the woman opposite her; only a faint fragrance wafted from her nose.

The girl couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She licked her lips, but still smiled and replied, "We meet again, Master Mage."

"Big sister, big sister, I'm here too!" Chuya stretched out her hand from the basket and shook it vigorously.

"Of course, I will never forget our lovely Chuya."

The woman nodded to her, and then the little girl broke into a big smile before shrinking back in contentment.

Then his gaze shifted to Yashiro again: "You really did help Hatsume, and even brought her here... Thank you."

"No need for thanks, just consider it a favor you owe me, okay?"

"Of course, but I owe you more than just this one favor."

"Oh?"

"It's a long story, and it's not good to just stand here and chat. I've prepared a vegetarian meal at the temple. Come on, I see your lips are so dry they're cracked. You need to moisten your throat first so you'll have the energy to talk... Oh, by the way, thank you for your help along the way. I'll take care of Chuya."

Yashiro naturally had no reason to refuse, but the bamboo basket that she found quite tiring to carry was easily lifted by the other party. This disparity made her a little uneasy... However, after touching her rumbling stomach, these slight unease were immediately thrown to the back of her mind.

The woman carried the bamboo basket filled with the first buds on her back and led the way. Perhaps worried that Yashiro might fall behind, she kept adjusting the size of her steps to maintain a pace roughly the same as Yashiro's.

Even though the two had fought before, she should have understood that this level of care meant nothing to the girl, yet she still did it so naturally.

Noticing this small act of thoughtfulness, Yashiro said softly, "...Thank you for your help."

"It was nothing," the woman replied.

It was less of a gesture and more of a simple act of kindness... This thought suddenly flashed through her mind and inexplicably tickled her funny bone. Yashiro tried to hold back, but couldn't help herself and covered her mouth with her fist, bursting into laughter.

"...?"

Hearing the laughter suddenly coming from behind, the woman walked forward while turning around and looking at the girl with a puzzled expression.

Did I just say something that would make people laugh?

Although she didn't quite understand, shouldn't she laugh a few times as a sign of politeness?

"..."

just forget it.

……

Chapter Seventeen: The Cat Washes Its Face

A meditation room, bathed in the warmth of spring.

Monks do not lie. Hachisuke thought that preparing a vegetarian meal was just a polite gesture, and that she would have to wait a little longer before she could eat. But as soon as she sat down, a young monk brought over the food and laid it out in front of her.

This vegetarian meal was far less lavish than a proper inn or tavern meal. It consisted of nothing more than a small bowl of brown rice, accompanied by a clear miso soup that tasted almost like water; two pieces of boiled tofu; and a few pieces of pickled radish—the radish was practically the only side dish with any flavor.

However, one cannot expect too much from free food. As always, the girl poured the hot soup over the rice and slurped it all up. Fortunately, the tofu in this era was plentiful, several times larger than in later generations. Although it was bland and tasteless, it still filled her up to about 60 or 70 percent.

A short while later, another monk came in to clear the dishes and brought over a wooden basin filled with hot water, along with a towel for her to wash her face and hands.

Whether out of consideration for the difference between men and women, or simply out of shyness, the other person did not stay indoors. Instead, as soon as they put down their things, they hurriedly slipped away, as fast as a fish released by a fisherman. Just as Yashiro was about to express her gratitude, the sound of footsteps thumping down onto the veranda reached her lips.

"Hmm... never mind."

She shook her head, chuckled, and started to wipe her face with a towel she had been wetting and wringing. However, she didn't have a mirror on hand, and even if she did, it wouldn't be of any use. She didn't know exactly where the dirt was, so the girl's face was inevitably a bit messy after washing it.

She was twirling a towel in her hand, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, without any order. Anyone who knew her would think she was washing her face, but anyone who didn't would think she was playing a prank by smearing mud on someone's face.

She felt quite good, wiping her face a couple of times, feeling that she had basically taken care of her entire face. Just as she was about to put the towel back in the basin, she suddenly heard footsteps she had heard twice before coming from the other side of the corridor.

dah, dah, dah, dah...

Inside the temple, no shoes or socks were worn. The person walked barefoot on the wooden corridor, making a creaking sound every now and then. As they approached, they came to the door, gently knocked a few times with their fingers, and then opened the door. It seemed that more sunlight poured onto Yashiro through this action.

The relaxing fragrance emanating from her wafted on the breeze.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, the woman's breathing suddenly became erratic.