[Novel] The Two, Soaring Through Edo! Episode 11: White Lily Flower (4)

■Main Text

"...There, that should do it. It's not a deep wound, but there's a chance the wound could fester. You shouldn't push yourself for a while, okay?"

"Ah... thank you."

Ume felt her heart racing. That she had actually metMatabei, whom she thought she might be able to see. That Matabei was actually quite strong. Perhaps it was because he treated her like a woman. There was also more surprise beyond that. Because,

"Matabei-san, you live in such an unusual place."

It was because his home wasunder the temple floor.

"Hmm? Well, even a place like this is a capital if you live in it. I've known the head priest here for a long time. I asked him for a favor to let me borrow it."

Matabei grinned, and Ume couldn't help but smile along with him.

At first, since the place she was brought to was a temple, she thought he lived in the temple. However, they didn't enter from the front but went around to theback, which made her think (Huh?), and when he finally lifted a straw mat hanging from the temple floor and said, "Here it is," even Ume was taken aback.

However, looking at it again, since the temple floor was higher than a normal house, there was still plenty of room above even for a large man to sit. In addition, perhaps there were holes here and there, as light shone through, making it only dimly lit, so for someone who considered it enough to just be able to shelter from the rain and wind, this was probably sufficient.

(Looking closely, it might even be better than ourshack.)

Such a thought crossed her mind, and Ume found it a little funny.

"But... I never thought the time to repay the favor would come so soon."

At Matabei's words, Ume was startled.

"I, I also thought, I wonder if I'll be able to see Matabei-san again? But I didn't think it would be this soon. And to be saved by you..."

"It's true. I thought there were some suspicious characters lurking about, and then I saw you there, Ume-dono."

"Ah, that was... I didn't understand what was happening either. They suddenly appeared, and they attacked without even listening to what I had to say... But, I was really saved. Thank you."

Ume expressed her gratitude once again.

"Oh, it was nothing. It's nothing compared to you, Ume-dono, who gave me thatrice ball back then. At that time, you looked just like... yes, aBuddha."

Matabei crossed his arms and spoke solemnly with a serious face. Ume couldn't help but burst out laughing at the overly exaggerated comparison.

"B-Buddha, that's going a bit too far! Just for one or two rice balls..."

"No, no, for me, it was an event of that magnitude. I was deeply made to realize that this is what happens when you have no money."

The way he spoke while nodding was also quite funny. Then, Ume remembered Matabei's purpose for coming to Osaka.

"By the way, Matabei-san, is yourofficial appointment going well?"

Then Matabei kept his arms crossed and made an awkward face.

"...There are various walls. I've been trying here and there, but somehow..."

"In other words, it's not going well."

When Ume pointed it out, Matabei scratched his head and nodded. Noticing that she felt relieved for some reason seeing that, Ume was a little confused.

"Then, that means you'll be living here for a while, right? If so, I'll come to check on you every now and then. You're not really eating much, are you?"

"No, no, such consideration... is very helpful."

"I knew it."

Seeing Matabei honestly relying on her while looking embarrassed, Ume smiled.

That night, Ume returned home and toldTake andMatsu about meeting Matabei again. At that time, fearing Take might worry, she said the wound on her arm was from falling and kept the incident about being attacked by men a secret.

She heard from the two later that Ume had been talking very happily that night.

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From then on, Ume would sneak out to see Matabei whenever she could between work. For Ume, Matabei was initially like a father figure, but gradually she began to harbor feelings beyond that.

Just spending time with Matabei was fun for Ume. She didn't know how Matabei saw her. Even so, it was enough for Ume just to talk about trivial things.

It was one day.
They went out to pick wild vegetables together, and on the way back. Matabei suddenly stepped off the path and returned immediately. Then, he gently handed the flower he was holding to Ume. That flower was awhite lily.

"This... for me?"

Matabei nodded.

"It's partly as a thank you for your help, but somehow when I saw that flower, I thought of you, Ume-dono. So I just picked it."

Matabei said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"A-ah, thank you. I-I'm happy. It's the first time I've ever received a flower from someone."

"Is that so? Since you are beautiful, Ume-dono, I thought men wouldn't leave you alone."

When Matabei said that smoothly, Ume's face turned bright red.

"W-what are you saying! B-beautiful, I've never been told that..."

The end of her sentence became mumbled. For a while after that, Ume couldn't look Matabei in the eye, and while saying harmless things like, "I-it's nice weather today, isn't it?" she walked looking in the opposite direction of Matabei. Matabei watched such an Ume with a gentle gaze.

That night, Ume put the flower she received from Matabei into a chipped piece of pottery and gazed at it shyly and happily. Matsu peeked at Ume from behind.

"Ume seems happy lately."

"Eh!? D-does it look like that?"

Being told that suddenly, Ume racked her brain to try and cover it up. However,

"It does. It's as if you're inlove. Right, Take?"

"That's right. The other person is that Matabei person, right?"

Seeing through her so easily by Take, Ume was speechless. As she writhed in embarrassment, Take smiled.

"Did you get that flower from Matabei-san?"

"Y-yeah... He said this flower looked like me. ...What do you think?"

Prepared to be laughed at, Ume asked timidly.

"A white lily, huh... Certainly, if you say it looks like Ume, I can't say it doesn't."

"R-really?"

"That's right. The way you give off an atmosphere that doesn't let people get too close is just like Ume. ...Ouch!"

She threw a nearby stone at Matsu, who said something strange. Seeing that, Take chuckled.

"Cherish it, that flower too. And those feelings. ...Because it's this kind of era."

"Yeah..."

Ume nodded honestly at Take's following gentle words. Then, Matsu suddenly stood up.

"That's right. Since it's a special occasion, I'll divine whether Ume's love will go well."

"Eh, no, it's fine..."

"Don't worry about it. It's also for practice."

Before she could stop her, Matsu immediately started the divination. Ume sought help from Take, but Take shook her head as if to say (Give up). Having no choice, Ume decided to watch Matsu's divination.

Matsu threw three small stones with the characters for 'Yin' and 'Yang' written on the front and back several times, and wrote symbol-like lines on the paper at hand. And when she finished writing, she started muttering while looking at the symbols. During that time, Ume felt restless for some reason.

"...Oh. TheHexagramke has appeared."

When Matsu finally announced it, not only Ume but even Take crowded around Matsu.

"...So? Matsu, what's the result?"

"This hexagram is..."

""...This hexagram is?""

The two crowded even closer.

"Yeah, it came out as'Bad Luck'."

""......""

Ume reflexively slapped Matsu's head with a bundle of paper nearby.

"O-ouch! What are you doing!?"

"You... in times like that, even if the result is bad, isn't a fortune teller supposed to convey it as if it were good!? If you do that, you can't take money!"

"Even if you say that. A hexagram is a hexagram, so it can't be helped even if I lie. Besides, this divination implies the future at the current point in time. If a bad implication appears, you just have to change it with human power."

Even though she usually only says stupid things, she says decent lines at times like this. Ume looks at Matsu with a bitter feeling.

"Well, well, Matsu's is just a pretend divination. You don't have to worry about it that much, Ume."

"Y-yeah, that's right..."

"T-Take. Pretend is terrible!"

Matsu complained about Take's follow-up. Ume tried not to think about it as Take said, but she felt something stuck deep in her heart.

To be continued

↓This is the first episode of this story.