"Hard to tell. At any rate, every last one of them looked to be up to no good." Then something came to him. "There was this creepy-looking fellow who came by now and then. Rode a real fine horse. Looked like a man trying hard not to be seen."
"He wore a shroud over his face?"
"Yeah, that's one way to describe it. A man about forty, I'd say."
"About forty." Youko couldn't think of anybody meeting that description.
"So, was this Rou up to something?"
"Not that I know of."
"Hmph," the old man snorted. "Sure seemed to me he was up to something. He wasn't from around these parts to begin with."
"He wasn't originally from Hokui?"
"Not hardly. Fall of last year, he showed up and settled down here with hardly a 'Hello' 'How do you do' to anybody in the neighborhood. Best not to get involved with that sort. Definitely not good people."
"I see." Youko thanked him with a nod of her head.
She left Hokui and called Hankyo. He was among the fleetest footed of all the pegasi. Traveling by means of the tonkou, he could get there all the faster, but Hankyo couldn't carry her through the earth with him. She had to ride.
From a discreet place along the highway, she mounted up and in a flash had arrived at Takuhou. She dismounted near Takuhou, passed through the gate and headed to the inn she'd already visited twice already. There had to be connection there.
The men who'd been spying on the rike had returned to Takuhou. The first time she'd come here, the men at the inn had struck her as a dangerous and formidable sort. She couldn't risk trusting them. As for the shrouded man and the man named Rou, she was already out of leads. The man at the inn, who'd been to Rou's place in Hokui, she had no choice but to doubt him as well.
She ran down the alleyway, heavy with stagnant air, and stopped in her tracks. The inn was there as she remembered it. She approached the entranceway and put her hand on the door.
Curiously, the door didn't move. The windows facing the thoroughfare were tightly shuttered. She knocked lightly on the door. Just as at Rou's place, there was no answer.
What is going on?
She hit the door with her fist, then turned and hurried over the house facing the inn and pounded on the locked doors. "Who's that?" came the immediate answer. A man in his fifties poked out his head.
"Excuse me, but I was wondering about the inn."
"Ah," said the man, glancing across the street. "They appeared to have closed up shop."
"Closed? I was here yesterday and it was open."
"Late last night, they packed up and left."
"Last night… . " Youko clenched her fists. "And that big guy was one of them?"
"Oh, you mean Koshou? Yeah, he is a big fellow."
"And a boy of about fourteen or so."
"Sekki, you mean. He's Koshou's kid brother. Did you come to see Koshou?"
"Not them. I came to see a girl, Suzu."
"I see," said the man, suppressing a yawn. He scratched at the back of his neck. "The girl with the sansui. They all left. Sorry, but I didn't find out where they went. Who are you, anyway?"
Youko answered with a slight nod, turned and walked away. She heard the man's angry voice behind her, but she didn't look around. Yesterday, hadn't Suzu said that Koshou was out? Hadn't she said that he'd be back?
Koshou had gone somewhere. Why close the inn and disappear? The rike had been attacked at the same time.
"Koshou… . "
She couldn't believe these events were unrelated. They attacked the rike and then absconded. At any rate, it'd be ridiculous to ask whether Suzu would be returning. She asked herself, "What the hell should I do now?"
The shrouded man whose presence caused Enho so much grief showed up at Rou's house. He'd met Koshou there. These men, also involved with the rike, had returned to Takuhou. Koshou, Sekki, the kaikyaku Suzu, and the child who had died in Takuhou--she simply couldn't see how they were all connected.
"I've got to find Koshou."
It was too soon to give up. Koshou, Sekki, and Suzu--Suzu had a sansui with her, and a sansui could be tracked.
"I'm definitely going to find them."
15-2
The house where Shoukei made herself useful was frequented by thirty or so people on a daily basis. At least fifty had stayed there at any one time. Moreover, they were also all clearly associates of Kantai.
Calling them mercenaries was no exaggeration. Many rode as bodyguards with the caravans arriving at and departing Meikaku. However, an equal number were holed up at the house, apparently waiting for something to happen. They didn't seem employed, but a significant number of them came and went quite frequently. Kantai didn't have a job. He was in charge of those at the house.
"Are you stuck here because you helped me?" Shoukei asked him one day.
Kantai shook his head. "No, I'm just a lazy bum."
With a lot of time on their hands, the boarders often jousted with swords and lances. Kantai didn't participate. For the most part, he only watched. But there was no doubt that the leader of the pack was Kantai. They paid him deference, and used polite language when addressing him. Shoukei was treated as his guest. Shoukei worked for her rent, but hardly anybody except Kantai asked her to do anything. Her impression was that a great variety of people had taken advantage of Kantai's offer of lodging, but what they really had in common was an animus toward Gahou, Province Lord of Wa.
A kind of self-made knight in shining armor.
They were a defiant and disciplined group of errant knights, united in opposition to Gahou. Shoukei got that much. From the way Kantai looked after them, she had a hunch there was more to it than that, though.
Where does the money come from?
He must have been raised in a wealthy household. Only that could account for the indifferent manner in which he spread the cash around. Perhaps, it occurred to Shoukei, all these mercenaries were in fact working for Kantai. Or perhaps Kantai himself… .
Pondering these things as she filled the cistern in the courtyard, the sound of horses' hooves came from the frontage of the building. Through the open main gate she saw a carriage drive up. A man stepped down from the carriage. A shroud covering his head and his face hidden from sight, he entered the gate. He took it upon himself to shut the doors. He finally raised his head and she heard the sound of the carriage departing.
"Um--?" Shoukei said.
He lowered the shroud to his shoulders, revealing a man in his forties. There was a great aura of authority about him. "And you are?" he asked, in a deep voice.
Keeping her doubts to herself, Shoukei replied with a slight bow. "I do odd jobs around the place. And who might you be?"
"I came to see Kantai. Is he in?"
"Ah, yes."
The man nodded, and without further ado, headed toward the main wing. He showed no signs of wishing Shoukei to get Kantai for him or show him the way. Shoukei hurried after him.
"Um, excuse me, but how should I address you?" Shoukei knew that this was a residence that anybody and everybody were free to enter when they wished. But even without anybody saying so, she also clearly got the sense that a person of unknown provenance could not simply wander in off the street. "Are you a friend of Kantai's?"
Shoukei placed herself in his path, blocking his way. The man smiled. "I see. He finally found himself a capable handmaid. My name is Saibou. Please announce my presence to Kantai."
I'm not a handmaid, Shoukei said to herself, running up the stairs. She was almost to the living area when Kantai came out. "Kantai--" she said.
"Right," said Kantai, with a nod of his head. No doubt he'd heard her voice from the courtyard. He bowed his head low. Saibou nodded in a mindful manner, climbed the stairs, and entered the parlor.