I Was a Small Fish When I Reincarnated, but It Seems That I Can Become a Dragon, so I Will Do My Best - Chapter 493
11-8. Grave Visit
Me, Houen, Uchikage, Princess, and Alena were heading to the cemetery in Oni village.
As I walked, the oni greeted me, so it wasn’t easy to make progress. But it had been a few years since I could talk with them, so it was natural that they would strike up a conversation.
I couldn’t just ignore them, so I decided to listen to them properly.
Man, I slept for like six years.
The conversation flowed easily.
I was able to talk to the oni who made my clothes and the old man oni who forged my swords.
They had apparently repaired the broken scabbard for me.
I was really grateful… and it seemed like they had sharpened it too.
Come to think of it, when I woke up… everything had been cleaned up nicely.
The whole thing with the baby and Alena left such a big impact that I couldn’t pay attention to the details.
It seemed they had been taking care of me too.
I’m really grateful for that.
“…But I’m a bit tired…”
“Well, there’s no helping that. How much do you think you’ve worried everyone?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
After that, about thirty people or so approached me.
But talking to everyone continuously was exhausting.
After all, I had just woken up…
“Hng…”
“Are you still sulking?”
“Well, you see…”
“I was being unreasonable too.”
“That’s true, Ouren-sama. We won’t be able to meet anymore…”
“No, Uchikage and Hime-sama might not be the same, you know? Maybe someone will come and release the seal.” (Hime -sama = Princess)
“That’s unlikely. Since they are feared as evil beings, if someone were to come and try to release the seal, they would be completely treated as evil.”
“Ah, that’s true…”
Well, I’m not expecting it, but I do have a small favor to ask of these two.
“In four hundred years, will you two still be alive?”
“I wonder. I’ve noticed the essence of Akki, so there’s a possibility for me…”
“As for me… Hmm, I don’t know.”
“I see. Well, if you’re alive… please take care of Karna and Yuuzen for me. Reizen can’t be sent away, it seems.”
“Once again, you’re making important things sound so simple…”
“You’re an unrepentant guy, really.”
“Hahaha.”
Since I don’t know what will happen in four hundred years, someone who knows the state of the world will have to protect these two.
Getting used to the environment of four hundred years later right away is impossible, I think.
It would be better if someone I know protects them for a while.
Well, by that time, Uchikage and Hime-sama may no longer be around, so it seems there will be a need to pass it on to other Oni.
Let’s leave this matter to them.
But only Oni or devils who can live a long time can handle this.
I’ll also inform Dacia and Mana about this.
So, after more time than planned, we finally arrived at the graveyard.
It looked almost the same as when I last saw it.
It was well-maintained, and there were no weeds in sight.
Uchikage took the lead in guiding us. He scooped water into a bucket and, holding a ladle, we stepped into the graveyard.
As we walked along a narrow path, some slightly larger graves came into view. I had been to Raima’s grave with Tenda before, and it seemed like Uchikage was guiding us to the same place.
“This is where the remains of the past generations of Oni Dance Masters are enshrined. The founder, Raima-sama, the second Danma-sama, the third Kenkyaku-sama, the fourth Tanzo-sama, the fifth Rakyou-sama, the sixth Jinari-sama, and the seventh is Tenda-sama.”
“It seems there have been quite a few changes over the five hundred years.”
“During the times of the third, fourth, and fifth generations, it seems there were wars. Many Oni died at that time.”
“I see…”
“Ouren-sama, here is Tenda’s grave.”
Behind the founder Raima, there was Tenda’s grave. The second and third generations were next to Raima’s grave. In the third row, graves for the fourth to seventh generations were lined up. Tenda’s grave had “Seventh Generation” carved on it.
I hadn’t received much information about the Oni Dance. I only knew that the Umbrella Dance was one of its forms. I didn’t know there were other oni trying to learn it as well.
Uchikage began washing the grave marker with water. I wanted to help, but Hime-sama stopped me.
“Ouen-sama, it’s a rule that only oni should clean oni grave markers.”
“Is that so… Well, I’ve heard stories where people who aren’t family get into trouble for cleaning graves.”
“You’ll get scolded even if it’s you Ouren-sama.”
“I see.”
I’ll just watch quietly here. The grave marker is quite large, so it seems like it will take some time to clean it.
But we quietly observed the process.
After a while, the water in the bucket ran out. After giving a final splash of water, Uchikage put the ladle back in the bucket and placed it in a corner. He then took a pouch from his pocket and offered it on a saucer.
“What’s that?”
“It’s tea leaves made in the oni village. He preferred tea over sake.”
“Really… That’s surprising.”
“We offer what the deceased liked, whether it’s sake or side dishes. He even used his personal tea set to make tea… so I thought this might be better.”
“I can’t imagine that…”
“I didn’t know either.”
“Is that so? I often had tea with him. During breaks from work.”
Hime-sama said nostalgically. He really did like tea after all. I had thought being an oni, he would have liked something more unusual.
I wish I could have had some of that tea Tenda made. After leaving the Oni village, I hardly got to see him…
There wasn’t much time for conversations, especially when I was going to rescue Hime-sama.
“…I should have talked with him more.”
I regret it. I know I can’t predict the future, so there’s no point in thinking I should have talked more then, but it’s only after someone is gone that you feel like you should have done more.
It’s too late once you’ve lost something, but that’s just how it goes.
…This might apply to me right now, too. It’s good for me, but not so good for others. But since it’s a choice I made, I won’t say anything more.
No, if I keep thinking about this, my heart will waver. I’ll try not to think about it.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
With Uchikage’s permission, I stood in front of Tenda’s grave. I clasped my hands and closed my eyes.
If it weren’t for you fighting, we might not have won. Your sacrifice greatly weakened the opponent. That’s why we were able to win in the end.
And if you liked tea so much, you should have treated us to some. I’m a former Japanese, so I love Japanese culture. I was so moved by just rice and miso soup. Well, back then my taste buds had just come back, so maybe everything tasted delicious.
If you were still alive, I would have wanted to learn some swordsmanship from you. Oh, but now I have all of Hiwa’s experience inside me… who would be the teacher in this case? But Hiwa’s style doesn’t involve a three-foot sword, so I’d need you to teach me about the Oni Dance. I don’t think I can handle it, though.
“…Thank you, Tenda.”
I opened my eyes and turned back. We returned to where the others were and looked at the grave marker once more.
“Shall we go?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We have to go talk to Lize.”
“Understood.”
Uchikage picked up the bucket and took the lead again. If we get the chance to come back here, I’ll bring some tea leaves next time.
I muttered that to myself in my heart, and we left the graveyard behind.