A few minutes after Ryōkōjū departed from Tuziku, he finally arrived back at the house.
Bam!
Thud...
Ryōkōjū punched the door open with so much force that it completely broke off its hinges and fell to the floor.
"Prīōra!"
"Prīōra!" he shouted once more.
Silence flooded the room for a moment.
Then—
"I'm in here, Grandpa!"
Prīōra's voice echoed from deeper within the house.
A faint grin appeared on the old man's face.
"Prīōra...!"
He bolted toward the sound of her voice.
"Where are you?!" he shouted as he frantically searched for her.
"In here!"
Her voice echoed from behind a nearby door, even louder this time.
Is she in her old bedroom? Ryōkōjū thought to himself.
Creak...
As he slowly opened the bedroom door—
To his horror, he found Prīōra battered and covered in bruises as she poured her eyes out on her bed.
The old man froze.
His gaze fell upon the wounds covering her body.
His mouth hung open.
His entire body remained completely still.
For a brief moment, it appeared as though Ryōkōjū had died while standing.
Then—
Drip...
A single tear fell from his right eye.
"P—Prīōra..." he whispered.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
He rushed to Prīōra's side and gently pulled her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry I let this happen to you..."
The old man broke down in tears as he held his granddaughter close.
"If only I had paid more attention to Nēgus... this wouldn't have happened!"
"I've failed you as your grandfather!"
Sniff!
"Please... forgive me!"
Ryōkōjū knelt before her and begged for her forgiveness.
"Grandpa..."
Prīōra wiped the tears from her eyes.
"It wasn't your fault..."
Suddenly—
"Prīōra, I'm back!"
A voice shouted from outside the room.
Then—
Kutcher appeared.
As soon as he locked eyes with Prīōra—
"Prīōra?!"
He sprinted to her side.
"You're hurt...!"
"How did this happen to you?!"
"Kutcher... I'm fine..." She forced a grin.
"The hell do you mean you're fine...?"
"You're covered in bruises!" he shouted as his frustration grew.
"Who did this to you?!"
He grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Upon noticing Kutcher's concern—and his obvious confusion about what had happened—Ryōkōjū turned toward him.
"Kutcher..."
"Boy..."
"Where have you been this entire time?" Ryōkōjū asked.
Kutcher turned toward him.
"Old man Ryōkōjū..."
"A little after you began training Tuziku, I decided I was going to do some training of my own."
"I've been out on the other side of the village training since this morning!" he explained.
"I see..."
The old man wore a sorrowful expression.
"What the hell happened?" Kutcher asked.
The old man lowered his head in shame.
"It was Nēgus..."
"I left him in charge of the village while I was out training Tuziku without giving him a specific reason."
"But he came back looking for me, and Prīōra tried to keep our whereabouts a secret from him."
"But he ended up doing this to her instead..."
The old man turned toward Prīōra, his face still covered in tears.
"If only I hadn't left him in charge of the village..."
BAM!
In a fit of rage, the old man punched the floor, leaving a small crack in it.
"It's all my fault!" he sobbed.
"No..."
Prīōra shook her head.
"It's not your fault, Grandpa!"
"Prīōra..."
The old man grinned at her as tears continued to flow down his face.
"She's right, old man Ryōkōjū!" Kutcher added.
"You weren't the one who hurt Prīōra..."
"This is all Nēgus' fault!"
He gritted his teeth.
...
The room became completely silent.
Then—
"Kutcher's right..."
"Big brother has always been this way ever since we were kids," said Prīōra as she desperately tried to hold back her tears.
Ryōkōjū slowly stood to his feet and faced her.
"I allowed him to escape..." he mumbled.
"Grandpa... what are you talking about?" she asked.
Ryōkōjū clenched his fists.
"I had the chance to punish Nēgus for his unforgivable acts, but..."
"I told him to leave the village instead!"
Ryōkōjū lowered his head in disappointment.
"You what?!" Kutcher shouted.
Prīōra remained silent as she gazed at Ryōkōjū in shock.
"I just couldn't do it..." Ryōkōjū mumbled.
"I could never bring myself to hurt one of my grandchildren, even in such a situation!"
Tears streamed down his face.
Old man Ryōkōjū...
Kutcher clenched his fist as he gazed at the old man, now stripped of his usual pride.
As Prīōra gazed at her grandfather's pitiful state, she thought to herself...
Grandpa...
She then let out a bright smile.
"That part of you is exactly what Mom used to complain about when she was alive..."
She chuckled.
"But..."
"Because of that... I've always looked up to you as an example!"
Upon hearing those words, the old man's wave of despair slowly began to subside.
"Prīōra..." he whispered.
Then, her expression hardened.
"Now! Get a grip of yourself! You're the Chief of the proud Hakashi village, aren't you?!" she scolded him.
A smile spread across the old man's face.
"Yeah!" he shouted.
"You should get some rest now. I'll go find someone to heal your injuries!"
Ryōkōjū swiftly left the room in search of medical assistance for his granddaughter.
Kutcher and Prīōra remained in the room.
"Prīōra..."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here when this happened," Kutcher apologized.
"That's alright. I can't exactly blame you for training..." she chuckled.
Kutcher laughed.
"Even if you don't want me to, we've come a long way together, and we were both asked to follow Tuziku by Captain Juzio..."
"I can't just sit back and let someone hurt my crew-mate, even if it's your sibling!"
He clenched the hilt of his blade.
Prīōra wore a bright smile.
"Speaking of crew-mates... where is Tuziku?" Kutcher asked.
"Oh, I haven't seen Tuziku..."
"I assume he's still training outside the village..." said Prīōra.
Kutcher scratched his head.
"But he was with old man Ryōkōjū, right?"
"Surely he heard what happened to you..."
Prīōra remained silent.
"Damn that Tuziku!" Kutcher snapped.
"How could he not be here at a time like this?!"
"I'm going to go see what he's doing, and depending on his reason, we might have a serious problem!"
He wore an annoyed expression.
"Prīōra, you get some rest while I go see what Tuziku is up to!"
And so, Kutcher stormed off in search of Tuziku, determined to find out why his Captain had failed to come to Prīōra's side in her time of need.
CHAPTER 50 END