Chapter 16: Hazy Night
Tap, tap, tap—footsteps echoed clearly through the silent main hall after closing time.
Suoh Tsukasa walked with his back straight, his pace neither fast nor slow. Matsuzaki Yoshito followed along obediently beside him.
Passing rows of tables and chairs, Suoh led his friend to find a spacious spot and sit down.
"Sit."
Reaching the table, Suoh placed the long wrapped bundle on the surface and gestured for him to take a seat.
"Customer, please enjoy."
At that moment, Kotama came over at just the right time carrying a tea tray, setting teacups before each of them.
She'd originally finished tidying up and was preparing to head home. When she saw Suoh bring in an unfamiliar friend dressed like a craftsman, she'd turned back and proactively brewed two cups of hot tea.
Holding the tray back against her chest, she stepped back a few paces to give the two enough space. Her eyes couldn't help but look curiously at the tightly wrapped long object on the table.
"Thank you."
Matsuzaki Yoshito nodded his thanks to Kotama, somewhat reserved.
When he noticed her clean, neat clothing, he realized how disheveled his own appearance must be. He shifted his body awkwardly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
"Suoh, no need for food. Just hurry and look at it."
"This blade... it's really excellent!"
But that discomfort was quickly replaced by stronger emotions.
Business came first. He quickly gathered his spirits, his gaze turning eagerly toward Suoh as he spoke.
"Alright."
Suoh replied with a smile. Under the earnest gazes of the two beside him, he stood and reached out to untie the wrapping cloth.
The fabric strips loosened and slipped from between his fingers circle by circle. A completely jet-black wooden sword revealed its true form.
Suoh gripped the blade horizontally before his chest. The wooden sword felt substantial—compared to the white ash wood sword he currently used, the weight had nearly doubled.
The blade body had been carefully polished from a single piece of quality ebony. The wood was as dense and tight as iron, its grain as delicate as silk.
The hall's dim yellow lamplight flowed across its surface, seeming to be swallowed and absorbed by that profound black, presenting a warm, restrained luster.
The guard had been carved with care and given an arc treatment. Made from the same material and color as the blade, it formed a seamless whole.
It rested quietly in Suoh's hand, and even the surrounding light seemed to settle down a few degrees.
"It's beautiful—"
Kotama beside them was captivated by its mesmerizing charm, praising it involuntarily.
Suoh said nothing. He moved to an open area, holding the blade horizontally with both hands and raising it above his head. His entire bearing transformed in that instant.
Whoosh—
He swung down suddenly, carving a graceful arc through the lamplight. The blade tip stopped precisely before his brow, utterly motionless.
The sound of the wooden blade splitting air was more substantial than the white ash sword, deeper and more solid. The perfectly balanced weight made every movement appear stable as a boulder.
"Perfect."
"Even better than I expected or imagined."
Returning to a standing position, Suoh's fingertips gently caressed the warm blade surface. He raised his thumb toward Matsuzaki Yoshito in affirmation.
"Yes!"
Matsuzaki Yoshito didn't say much. His calloused fists clenched tightly before his chest, trembling slightly as his eyes reddened. The corners of his mouth lifted into a brilliant smile from deep within his heart.
Meeting a friend, pouring his focus into crafting a work, receiving recognition and affirmation—everything during this time felt like a dream.
He'd forgotten. He'd truly forgotten. Forgotten how long it had been since he'd felt this happy.
Or perhaps this joy of being understood and recognized was something he'd never experienced in his entire long existence.
Suoh's eyebrows twitched slightly. In his perception, the soul strength of his friend before him had increased somewhat in an instant. Though the magnitude was small—far from reaching the level of awakening spiritual power aptitude—the soul's spiritual light had become more resilient.
"The power of the heart, huh."
He quietly filed away what had just happened. Now wasn't the right time to investigate the reasons behind it.
An increase in soul strength was beneficial and harmless for ordinary souls. Ultimately, it was a good thing.
"Give it a name."
Matsuzaki Yoshito spoke after calming his excited emotions slightly.
"Hazy Night."
Looking up at the deepening night beyond the window, Suoh gave the blade in his hand this name without a second thought.
"Hazy Night... that's a wonderful name!"
Matsuzaki Yoshito repeated the name in a low voice. This work he'd poured his heart into had received its name, completing its final perfection.
Thoroughly satisfied, after the excitement passed, Matsuzaki Yoshito felt a wave of deep exhaustion surge up. His body swayed slightly, unable to stand steady.
His feet stumbled a step. He reached out to brace himself against the table's edge, barely managing to stabilize himself. His tanned face had gone somewhat pale.
After multiple consecutive days of focused craftsmanship with almost no sleep, having finally set down the burden on his heart, the overexertion he'd ignored now fully revealed itself.
Although ordinary souls didn't feel hunger, the exhaustion from hard labor couldn't be avoided.
"Are you alright?"
Suoh reached out in time to support his arm, helping him sit down in a chair.
During that brief assistance, he simultaneously transmitted spiritual power through his palm, slowly nourishing Matsuzaki's somewhat dried and shaken Soul Sleep.
This was Suoh's self-taught understanding of healing techniques, along with a slight advanced modification.
The core of healing techniques lay in the practitioner transforming their own high-density spiritual pressure into energy with restorative and regenerative abilities, then injecting it into the injured person's body to repair wounds.
What he'd just done was use his spiritual pressure to nourish Matsuzaki Yoshito, helping activate his own spirit particles to return his Soul Sleep to stability—a practical variation in technique.
"Phew, I'm fine. Just got dizzy for a moment and couldn't stand steady."
Matsuzaki Yoshito sat down with Suoh's assistance and exhaled a long breath. His complexion recovered to normal at a visibly rapid pace.
Everything happened too quickly. That exhaustion emanating from the depths of his soul just moments ago felt like it had only been an illusion.
"Kotama-san, could I trouble you to watch over him?"
"I'll see you both home afterward."
Seeing his emergency measures succeed, Suoh relaxed. He turned toward Kotama with some apology in his tone.
"No problem, leave it to me."
Kotama had been a spectator this whole time. Though she hadn't fully figured out what happened, she still patted her chest and agreed.
"Have some tea and don't move around. I'll be right back."
Placing Hazy Night on the table and giving the resting Matsuzaki Yoshito gentle instructions, he then turned and headed toward the back kitchen.
Returning to the kitchen, his goal was clear. After washing his hands thoroughly, he scooped out a basin of rice from the wooden container warming over low heat on the stove.
Since he'd started his fifth meal routine, there was always sufficient rice kept warm on the stove at this hour. No need to restart the fire.
He simply seasoned the rice with salt, then took a sheet of nori from the wooden box. His fingertips glided lightly, and the nori separated in the air into three equal strips.
Grabbing a clump of rice, his fingers moved lightly and nimbly. With each pinch and turn, plump rice balls took shape in his palm.
"Done."
He wrapped each rice ball in a strip of dark nori, then grabbed a clean wooden plate and arranged the steaming rice balls one by one.
By the time he returned to the main hall carrying this simple meal, less than two minutes had passed.
"Sorry for the wait."
"Matsuzaki, eat something. You'll feel better after eating."
Suoh placed the plate before Matsuzaki Yoshito, speaking warmly.
Though the rice balls were simple, they were just right for someone like him who'd just recovered from extreme exhaustion. Something too rich would actually burden his body instead.
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