Chapter 6 Seino Sara's Oath

The snow had completely stopped, and the sun had risen.

A hazy mist slowly spread over the golden sunlight. Along the cracks in the cloud layer, streams of morning light poured down. Through the windows of the Pillar General's mansion, the light and shadow were split in two, with half the living room bathed in dazzling light and half in the shadow of the window frames.

The first snow had just cleared.

"Sara."

Seino basked in the sun, feeling warmth throughout his body.

As one gets older, one tends to enjoy sunbathing, enjoying the warmth seeping into old bones.

He spoke towards a corner covered in shadow, addressing someone unseen:

"Have they left?"

"Lord."

A calm and crisp voice replied.

The folding screen was slowly pushed open—

In the shadowy alcove, a meticulous and gallant woman was kneeling:

Her knees bent, buttocks resting on her delicate ankles, upper body straight. She wore a deep purple samurai garment, its long upper hem spread flat on the tatami. On her snow-white bare knees rested a slender naginata. She lowered her head slightly, her golden eyes blinking.

This sitting posture, called yokoza, is the formal sitting position for Inazumans on solemn occasions.

"Lady Yae and Shrine Maiden Ringo have left," Sara answered when Seino called her.

Seino Sara, a general of Inazuma, bore Tengu bloodline. Despite her young age, she had already made a name for herself in the military, known for her serious demeanor and swift action in carrying out the will of the Raiden Shogun, decisive in battle and valiant in war.

She had another identity that drew attention and instilled fear: the adopted child of the Pillar General's house. For ten years, she had served Lord Seino Raiden, honored as the 'Pillar of Inazuma', executing his will in the world.

Long ago.

When Seino openly defied the Raiden Shogun's wishes, opposing the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree, challenging authority and incurring the wrath of the world, only she steadfastly followed the Pillar General, never hesitating for a moment.

To some extent, for the Tenryou Commission that enforced the Sakoku Decree, Seino Sara was more troublesome than the Pillar General himself, because she was younger, with the vitality of youth, and at the same time, she had a stubbornness that the elderly couldn't match.

"Are you hungry?" Seino asked, "I made two portions of noodles. Let's eat together."

"Lord Pillar General," Sara said, her gaze serious and meticulous, true to her character.

"As your servant, I'm not worthy to dine at the same table as the one I serve." As she spoke, her golden eyes remained calm, her expression unchanged, as if this was a matter of course.

This girl's personality was just like this. If forced, it would only trouble her. Seino understood her character well.

"You're still so rigid," Seino said helplessly.

"I worry. You need to grow up quickly."

"I'm sorry..." Sara lowered her eyes.

The firewood in the hearth crackled quietly.

"What I said earlier... to the Kamisato girl, what I wanted to express... you should be able to guess, right?" Seino said softly, basking in the sun.

His health had been deteriorating for some time now.

Sara served in the Pillar General's mansion daily. Seino knew that with her intelligence, it wouldn't be difficult for her to guess something.

Of course, Seino never intended to hide it from her.

It's just that he only chose to make it clear today.

"I'm foolish," Sara's shoulders trembled slightly. She paused, then calmly said:

"I can't guess anything."

"I'll have to rely on you from now on," Seino said.

"I don't know anything," she insisted.

"Don't make it difficult for this old man. You're an obedient child."

"..."

"I'm dying."

Seino felt warm all over. He slightly squinted his eyes, savoring this rare winter sun.

"...From now on, Inazuma will have to rely on you. I don't have much time left."

"I don't know," Sara still lowered her head, her expression unchanged, her golden eyes still calm.

However, her clenched fingers, slightly trembling shoulders, and lightly pressed thin lips were silently speaking volumes.

"Your Excellency."

"I'm childish, I'm not mature enough, I'm far from adequate, I don't see things far enough, I'm too rigid, I can't do anything."

Sara's voice remained steady and calm, but in its deepest part, there was a slight tremor.

"Lord Pillar General, I'm not enough..." Sara raised her head, her golden eyes trembling slightly: "You must continue to bear this burden."

The morning light was faint.

The winter day after the first snow was terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of snow sliding off pine needles breaking the silence.

"You are stubborn, you are childish, but you will slowly grow up. While I am slowly growing old."

"You have Tengu blood, you have plenty of time, you have enough youth... while I am just a mortal."

Sara lowered her head, half her face sunk in shadow.

Seino slowly stood up, patting the wrinkles on his kimono,

"One day, you will grow into a great general. You have strength, you have time, you have patience, and you also have dreams."

He said self-mockingly,

"The Shogun is also childish, also stubborn, but that fellow, ah, has one advantage - she's too good at living — she's actually very afraid of loneliness."

"I can't accompany her to the end, but you can. You need to become her strength."

Sara clutched her clothes tightly, her nails digging into her flesh.

He had said too much at once.

"Cough, cough"

"Seino Sara."

"You must walk into the grand sunlight, and you must do it because you are a Seino, because you inherited my surname, and more importantly,"

His lungs gradually weakened, he coughed again and again, all the strength in his body being drained with each cough, but Seino still stood straight. He walked slowly towards the shadowy area,

"Sara, what I want to tell you is, cough, cough... Sara,"

Silver eyes met with the young woman's gaze below.

The sunlight was split in two by the window frames, half the room in grand light, half in dim shadow.

"What I want to tell you, what I want to convey to you is," Shrouded in the faint light of early morning, Seino said softly:

"...You have always been my pride."

Silence.

Silence.

They fell into a long, long quietness, with very few sounds left in this world.

The sound of the fireplace burning, the sound of snow melting, the sound of wind blowing... and the sound of tears falling on the tatami.

The young woman raised her long-lowered face.

Since entering the room — or rather, since long ago,

She had always maintained that calm and steady expression, maintained that firm and composed face, because she had to be strong. She was a warrior of the Pillar General's house, she symbolized the will of the Lord Pillar General, so she had to be strong, had to be powerful.

But at this moment, she was somewhat different.

Biting her lip, golden eyes slightly trembling, nails digging into flesh, and more importantly:

Slightly moist, slightly bitter, with a hint of saltiness,

Clear tears appeared on the forever cold, forever strong — Tengu face.

"...Yes. I obey."

She gently wiped away the clear tears on her face, then, firmly and without hesitation,

Voiced from the depths of her soul:

"Upholding the will of the Pillar General, upholding your wishes,"

She drew her blade, slicing across her palm, copious blood staining the lines of her hand, then dripping onto the tatami. In the vast whiteness of snow, that blood was so striking.

"Seino Sara swears,"

Sara stood up, walked forward, into the light, in front of Seino, and made her oath:

"In this life and world, I swear to protect Inazuma to the death, to become the thunder of the Raiden Shogun with this body, for ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, until eternity —

Until the last drop of blood is spilled!"

She thrust her naginata into the tatami, cold light splashing, thunder rolling. Her blood fell along with the thunder, releasing a roar at the top of the cloud layer.

It took a long time to subside.