Chapter 1057: That Creature Is a Harmful Creature (12)

An out-of-season banquet was suddenly announced in Ippen.

“All retainers and commanders—drink with me!”

Ippen called itself a country, but in truth it was nothing more than a single island called Maji Island.

Because the realm was so small, the king’s order could spread across the whole territory at once.

Thanks to that, the commanders gathered at the royal castle of Ippen under the abrupt command to attend the banquet, whispering among themselves.

“A banquet? At a time like this? Wasn’t he mourning the loss of the heir? Why would he hold a banquet now of all times?”

“What, you haven’t heard? The heir has returned. You’re late to the news.”

“What? Is that true? Then it must be a banquet celebrating his return. I was wondering what this was about.”

The island was so small that it was impossible for only one or two people to have witnessed the prince’s return.

And because those witnesses had gone running to report it to their own commanders, half the people knew and half did not.

No—half had known.

The prince’s return was a joyous event, so it was hardly something that needed to be hidden. Thus, during the mingling before the banquet, the identity of today’s surprise guest—the true star of the evening—was promptly shared with everyone.

After that, the eyes of the retainers and commanders kept drifting to one side.

Toward Yeongsi, the commander of the warriors, who sat ramrod straight even in the middle of all this, eyes closed.

He was the very man who had reported that the heir was dead, so naturally everyone was wondering what the hell this meant.

But Yeongsi pretended not to hear. Rather, he sat with his eyes closed as if determined not to see anything at all, feigning meditation.

A clear message: do not speak to me.

And so, as the retainers and commanders gradually took their assigned seats, preparations for the banquet were completed.

At last, in the broad banquet hall—or more precisely, a long hall stretched lengthwise—the vassals of Ippen stood in rows to the left and right. Then, finally, the gong sounded and the Japanese zither was played, announcing the appearance of the host.

The retainers all threw themselves into deep bows as one, burying their foreheads.

From behind the folding screen at the head of the hall, a huge man emerged slowly.

Once, he had been nothing more than the lowliest of pirates. Now he reigned as the king of a nation.

The presence of such a hero of the age had not faded in the least, even now that he had grown old. His gaze swept over the room with a fierce gleam, as if light itself blazed from his eyes.

This man was the king of Ippen, Saruta Shinryong.

With everyone bowing their heads, the king slowly lowered himself into the highest seat.

Then he said one quiet word.

“Sit.”

At that, the retainers all straightened at once.

More than a hundred people were present, across the three chambers of the banquet hall and even the garden beyond, yet the only sound was the faint rustle of clothing.

Then everyone’s gaze turned to the king’s right, to the cushion that still sat empty.

Nine times out of ten it was obviously meant for the heir, but the king had not yet spoken, so surely they had to at least pretend to wonder.

At that, the king gave a bitter smile.

Of course, Ippen was small, and the eyes of his retainers were everywhere, so it would have been nearly impossible for anyone to slip in secretly without others knowing.

Everyone stared at the empty seat as if curious, yet there was no real confusion in their eyes at all. Which meant there was no one here who did not know the heir had returned.

And if everyone already knew, there was no reason to drag out the suspense.

“The reason I hastily convened this banquet is because the greatest anxiety of our kingdom has been resolved. How could I let such a fine day pass unmarked? I wished to surprise you, but it seems you all already know. Crown Prince Tadamasa, come in.”

At that, the retainers bent at the waist.

Not full prostration this time—still kneeling, they merely bowed their bodies deeply, stared for a moment at the patterns in the straw mats, then straightened again.

And there he was.

The Crown Prince, who had supposedly died, now sitting perfectly alive in his place.

It was not exactly shocking, of course, but seeing him in person was still strange. To think he had been left alone in the Central Plains and somehow made his own way back. Remarkable indeed.

But this was no time to marvel.

“Congratulations on your safe return!”

“You’ve worked hard, Your Highness!”

“You truly are a hero, Your Highness!”

“As expected of Your Highness! We knew you’d make it back!”

The retainers all started shouting at once, as if competing to see who could praise him the loudest.

Only after the enthusiastic congratulations had gone on for quite a while—long enough for concern to arise over the retainers’ throats—did the prince sharply raise a hand and cut them off.

“That’s enough, enough. More importantly, there are people I must introduce to you all. These are the benefactors who helped me return here alive. Bring in Lord Seomun and their retainers.”

At that, every head in the hall snapped around.

Only the lord of the house and his family were permitted to enter through the doorway behind the seats of honor. No matter how exalted a guest might be, they were supposed to enter from the front.

The curiosity on the retainers’ faces dimmed somewhat.

Because the appearance of the benefactors was rather bizarre.

The first thought that struck them was simple.

They’re huge.

Most Japanese pirates were around five feet one inch or so, perhaps a little shorter or a little taller.

But Peng Daesan, the tallest of the group, stood well over six feet, while Qing was only a little short of six feet herself. Even Gongsun Yoye was tall for a woman.

Even Seol Iri was not actually small; she only looked small standing among the others. Even so, she was still just a little taller than the prince.

They were shocked once by the height, and then shocked a second time by the fact that every last one of them had their faces covered.

Among the Japanese, hiding one’s face was something tremendously, profoundly suspicious.

Displeased sighs and low mutters spread at once through the hall, and uneasy looks passed back and forth.

Even the prince was uneasy.

Because before the banquet, he had already sent word ahead: he understood that Lord Seomun did not wish to show their face, but to attend a banquet in his country while still covering it would be a grave discourtesy, so he begged them to reconsider.

But Qing had listened with one ear and let it out the other.

Why would I? If it’s a grave discourtesy, so what?

It’s not as if I’m trying to make a good impression on a bunch of Japanese bastards. They’re all subhuman trash I’m planning to wipe out anyway, so why should I bother showing them manners?

“Ahem.”

In the end, the king of Ippen himself let out an uncomfortable cough, and anxiety and embarrassment flashed plainly across the prince’s face.

Finally, the prince spoke awkwardly.

“Lord Seomun is a foreigner, so they seem unfamiliar with our customs. I have also heard that they have never shown their face, and that there are personal reasons for it. In that case, would it not be difficult to reproach them for it?”

A murmur spread through the room.

Any people tended to become somewhat more lenient when dealing with foreigners.

“Still, Lord Seomun. In our country, to conceal one’s face at a banquet is a very grave discourtesy. Might I ask you once more?”

“Your Highness. As I told you before, the reason I conceal my face is that when people see it, they are greatly startled, and it is moreover harmful to their bodies. I fear this happy occasion might turn unfortunate. Even so, must I reveal it?”

Her Japanese was fluent enough that astonishment spread over the retainers’ faces.

What? Was she a Japanese woman?

At the same time, another question rose at once in their minds.

Just how hideous could a face be, if merely seeing it would shock people and even harm their health?

At that, the prince looked toward his father.

You heard her. What can I do about it?

“Hm. She is the benefactor who saved my son’s life, and if her intentions are good, I cannot accuse her of rudeness. Show them to their seats.”

And so they were led to their places by a servant, and Qing thought, Honestly, why the hell would anyone design a banquet hall like this?

It was one of those Japanese-style layouts, like in movies back home—open a door, there’s a room, then another door behind that room opens to another room, and then another behind that.

That kind of maddeningly Japanese structure.

Qing walked between the rows of Japanese bastards seated on both sides.

With the face veil on, her gaze could move freely. She rolled her eyes here and there as she walked, Let’s see. Might as well get a look at the faces of the bastards I’ll need to kill.

Then—

“Hk.”

Someone suddenly sucked in a startled breath.

Qing’s eyes snapped in that direction, and she immediately spotted a woman seated in the outermost place of the second chamber from the inside, half-hidden behind a door panel.

Even without that, the woman would have stood out.

After all, in the middle of a sea of Japanese bastards, there sat a Western woman like a lump of paint splashed across the room.

The door had merely hidden her from view. Otherwise Qing would have noticed her first.

For some reason, the woman’s eyes were trembling faintly as she stared this way.

Qing felt only bafflement.

Brownish blond hair. Blue eyes. A face she had never seen before.

What? Why is she startled to see me?

And in the seat beside her—

What the hell? Isn’t that that Dutch first mate bastard?

Why the hell is he sitting here?

She had let him go so he could crawl back to the Netherlands and warn them not to get too cocky in the Central Plains because it was full of bizarre monsters.

So why was he in a Japanese pirate den?

Judging by how comfortably he had planted himself at the banquet, he was clearly not a prisoner.

Huh.

Then was that Western woman on the Dutch ship too? Is that why she recognized me?

But how did she recognize me?

The first mate himself, meanwhile, showed no particular interest in Qing at all. He simply looked bored.

Well, of course he did.

Qing had her face covered, and after bathing she was now dressed in the Japanese clothing they had provided.

Huh. I think we’re going to need a little private interview.

Qing’s eyes narrowed.

But there was no way she could acknowledge him now, and if she wanted a nice, thorough interview later, now was exactly the time to pretend not to know him.

Once Qing and her companions took the seats they were shown to, every place in the banquet hall was at last filled.

Before each seat stood a tiny low dining table—five in total. Soon servants came bustling over and began setting down small dishes.

Tiny side dishes, no more than a bite or two each, took their places one by one across the five little tables.

This was a Japanese banquet style known as honzen.

The full spread placed on the five tables consisted of three soups and eleven side dishes, called the highest-grade banquet meal, “three soups and eleven dishes.”

The banquet meal was ranked by status. The more honored the guest and the farther inward their room, the more tables they received and the more dishes they were served.

The most honored guests received the full three soups and eleven dishes.

The lowest-ranking guests, seated all the way outside under tents in the garden, got only a single table—one soup and three side dishes.

Still, if you were inviting people to a banquet, was it really right to discriminate starting with the food?

The people seated in the back had to feel awful. In this world, being treated differently over food was one of the dirtiest, most miserable things there was.

Then again, from the opposite perspective, people who received the good meal naturally felt satisfied with the treatment, and Qing had been given the very highest spread, so she figured, Well, whatever.

In a way, from Ippen’s perspective, they had been extraordinarily lucky.

If they had invited Qing, then sat there gobbling down five lavish tables’ worth of food among themselves while setting just one measly little table in front of her?

Then Qing would have been unable to contain her rage.

You filthy, cheap little bastards. You dare play games with food? You lot get all the delicious stuff and you serve me this? Fine. That table will be your last meal. No—your funeral offering!

But with five tables laid out before her and covered in dishes of every color, even Qing had to admit it was pleasing to look at.

All right. Even if you lot are irredeemable beast-trash wearing human skin, there are rules. You don’t mess with people while they’re eating.

I’ll let it slide. Just this once.

But then—

When do we eat? Why isn’t anyone eating? Do we have to wait for the king to say “all right, let’s eat” and lift his chopsticks first?

How much time passed like that?

Everyone still sat there merely observing the food.

And yet somehow the mood was strange. Everyone seemed to be watching everyone else, reading the room, their expressions growing increasingly stiff. Apparently this was not a place where they normally made people just stare at their food for this long.

Why?

Because only now had the retainers realized that this gathering was not merely a celebration of the heir’s safe return.

They kept stealing glances toward one side, studying the complexion of Yeongsi, the commander of the warriors.

At last, the king’s voice rang out.

“Yes. Before the meal, there is still one matter that must be made clear. If the Crown Prince is so healthy and alive, then why did I spend so many days drowning in grief for a child I believed lost? Why did such a misunderstanding come about in the first place?”

At that, the corner of Qing’s eye twitched.

You son of a bitch, at least let people eat first.

You’ve got food right in front of you and you’re going to start this at the dinner table? What kind of bastard does that just because he’s king...