ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
About today's plans,
we'll have the Mid Festival in the afternoon.
Sure.
I have a general idea of what you're thinking about,
but don't forget about work.
I know.
Sir Lihaku. What's wrong?
Something bad has happened.
Something bad?
Remember the fire in the warehouse?
-Yes. -On the same day, also this.
There was a theft at a different warehouse.
They must've taken advantage of all the commotion that night.
A looter at a fire, huh?
What was stolen?
I guess this is a behind-closed-doors discussion.
We lost some ritual items.
Multiples of them, in fact.
Were they stored that carelessly?
I'm not entirely sure myself, but...
We don't have any knowledgeable managers at the moment.
We had one that passed away last year.
What about the current manager?
I'm sure he has general knowledge.
Apparently, he got food poisoning a while back.
Food poisoning?
He got it from his favorite type of seaweed.
He's unconscious, and can't go back to work.
So we're in a bind.
This sounds familiar.
Could that be the bureaucrat who loves delicacies?
How do you know?
It's a long story.
A theft that occurred at the same time as a fire.
The manager of the warehouse, who was absent due to food poisoning.
It's too strange to be a coincidence.
What kind of person was the manager who passed away last year?
I know he was famous for being straight-laced.
I can't think of the name.
I know that he loved sweets.
Could it be Sir Kounen?
Right, that's it!
Hey, how do you know these things?
It's a long story.
This must be the sweet-toothed high official
that I heard about from Sir Jinshi,
who died from overconsumption of salt.
Could this all be just coincidence?
Each incident looks like an accident,
but what if they were all orchestrated
by someone with some kind of purpose?
So, did you need me for something?
Oh, right!
This thing that you gave me...
Oh, from the fire.
I tried to return it,
but the owner returned it to me, saying he didn't want it.
I thought it was precious, since it's a high-quality item.
Apparently, he got it from some court lady.
A court lady?
Isn't it strange?
Why would someone give a warehouse guard something like this?
Apparently,
this guard escorted a court lady
outside the palace since she was walking alone in the dark.
This smoking pipe was given to him then to thank him.
If you received something this nice,
you'd want to use it right away.
Start a fire, and sneak into a different warehouse
when the security is sparse.
If the court lady
gifted the guard with the smoking pipe to accomplish this...
Sir Lihaku, who was this court lady?
I asked for details,
but she was wearing a scarf, so her face was hidden.
Perhaps she was hiding her face on purpose.
Could be.
Apparently, she was tall for a woman,
and smelled of medicine.
You're not tall, so I know it wasn't you.
But do you have any ideas?
The scent of medicine,
a tall court lady...
Don't speak on speculation alone.
Other than the incidents and accidents you listed,
did anything else strange happen?
That's easy for you to say, but...
Would looking into that dig anything up?
Maybe.
-Maybe not. -Which is it?
Two coincidences could happen at once.
Maybe even three.
But if these coincidences keep adding up,
making it not so coincidental,
and if the tall court lady was at the center of all this,
what would that mean?
Even if the court lady named Suirei becomes the central figure,
it has nothing to do with me.
I see! You're smarter than you look!
You're as strong as you look, Sir Lihaku.
Please go easy on me.
You look like you're having fun.
We're not having fun.
I'll be on my way then.
You seem very close to that military officer.
Do I?
Some things were bothering him
so he wanted to ask me some questions about it.
These incidents
could possibly be related to Sir Jinshi.
Could I bother you with the details?
Those are some strange connections, indeed.
Yes.
So, what do you think it means?
I don't know.
It seems as if they're trying to set several traps,
hoping one might work, rather than planning for
one big incident.
I see. So they might have set up other traps.
Though it's hard to say for certain.
With all of the incidents, it's hard to say whether they were planned or not.
It's still entirely possible that they were all coincidences.
You're not interested?
Interested?
I'm a mere maidservant.
I only do as I'm told.
Then, what about this?
The other day, when I visited some trading merchants,
I heard of an interesting item going around.
This is what it's called.
Calculus bovis are cow gallstones, a type of medicine!
It's a top quality product that can only be obtained from one in 1,000 cows!
Could it be, he would give it to me?
Is it true? He's not bluffing?
-Do you want it? -Please!
Xiaomao.
Excuse me, sir.
Looks like you're all in.
You'll really give this to me?
Depends on how well you do.
I understand.
As you wish, Sir Jinshi!
All right then, Gaoshun. Get right to it!
This is the incident from the other day.
The official who got food poisoning was from the Board of Rites.
If I remember correctly, the Board of Rites
manages education and foreign affairs.
Only if I actually studied to become a court lady.
I'll leave these here.
Thank you.
Not a problem. Ask me anything
you don't know.
What kind of position is this?
This position works with festivities.
Festivities, huh?
Do you have anything to write with?
Oh, yes.
Festivities, festivities...
The food-poisoned official and Sir Kounen
both worked with festivities.
And if the smoke pipe incident
was a way to ensure that the ritual items were stolen...
There must be a place where these "coincidental" events meet
to create an "inevitable."
If the ritual items were stolen with this much planning,
it means they're used for big festivities.
Larger than Mid Festival.
I should look into when that will take place.
Now that I think of it, Sir Jinshi did purification ceremonies often.
If you're interested in festivities,
this should be useful.
Is this a drawing of where the ritual takes place?
Yes. It's on the western edge of the outer court.
It's called the Altar of the Sapphire Sky.
It's a very strange design, right?
There's a large beam hanging from the roof.
There's a large drape over the central ritual altar.
They lower the beam each time to add ceremonial texts.
You're very knowledgeable.
Yes. I'm not proud of this, but before working at the archives,
I had a more proper position at the Ministry of Rites.
I said something
to upset the higher-ups, and I was sent here.
At first, I was afraid of its strength or lack thereof,
but I'm glad there weren't any problems.
What do you mean?
Because they hang the pole from the ceiling, like this.
It's a very large pole,
so I was afraid that it could potentially fall.
When I asked about its strength,
I was demoted to work here.
That could be very terrifying.
If the metal fittings that fix the pole broke,
and the pole fell from the ceiling, then the person
most at risk would be the performer of the ritual, who would be right underneath.
Someone of nobility.
An issue with strength and stability...
But which ritual item was stolen?
If such a valuable item was stolen, surely they'd make a new one...
Make a new one...
Excuse me.
When will they hold a ceremony in this hall next?
When?
Right. That would be today.
If my speculation is correct,
this has been planned for a very long time.
There's no certainty that every part will work.
But by setting several traps, a few of them will overlap.
That is how they led up to this moment.
It's just speculation, nothing more.
But what if that speculation was right?
Here it is!
ALTAR OF THE SAPPHIRE SKY
Hey! What are you doing?
Please let me through!
-I can't allow that. -It's an emergency!
A maidservant like you cannot intervene in festivities!
He's right. I'm just a maid.
I have no power.
But once something happens, it's too late.
That's how irreparable things always happen!
Someone's life is at risk.
Please cancel the festivities!
That's not something for you to decide.
If you want to say something,
write a comment in the suggestion box.
-It'll be too late then! -I won't allow it!
There is a major fault with the ritual altar.
Someone could have tampered with it.
If you don't let me in right now,
you'll regret it!
I'm telling you that there's danger.
And yet, you refuse to hear of it.
Right. I see what's going on.
It makes sense. You intend to get in my way to make sure
that the scheme plays out.
Perhaps you're connected to whoever plotted all this.
I'm about to lose consciousness...
It must be infuriating to be talked to that way by a little girl.
I taunted him on purpose. This was bound to happen.
But this incident isn't enough.
A small fight like this
couldn't stop the festivities.
I'm all right.
I can't afford to lose consciousness now.
Are you done?
Please let me through.
There's someone of noble blood inside, correct?
If something happens, wouldn't it be all of you who are beheaded?
I'm not asking you to stop the festivities.
Just let me go.
Just say a rat sneaked in by accident.
In that case, I'd be the only one being beheaded!
You're saying I should believe a little girl like you?
How about my word then?
You are...
And anyways,
what are you doing, beating up a little girl like that?
She's hurt.
Anyways,
what if you listen to the girl this one time?
I'll take full responsibility for this.
I don't want to see who's behind me.
And he came at such perfect timing, like he calculated it...
Now's not the time to think about these things.
I don't care who's behind me.
I probably look terrible.
I'll ask Sir Gaoshun,
and once everything is over, I'll take a nice, long bath.
I have to make sure
not to get beheaded before that.
I made it...
I should stitch that up.
Hey.
How did this happen?
Sir Jinshi.
Could I have the calculus bovis?
Now's not the time for that.
What happened
to your face?
Why is Sir Jinshi here?
Why does he look so sad?
I'm sorry. Let me stitch up my leg...
Hey!
Hey! Hang in there!
Wake up!
Hey! Hang in there!
Hey!
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next episode, "Thornapple."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi