The next day, the carriage took a different road from the one they had come by.
"The direction is different, isn't it?"
Maomao asked Sparrow.
Today, rather than sitting on the driver's seat, she was inside the covered wagon with Sparrow.
Xiaohong wasn't here—she was riding on horseback with her uncle.
"Yes, we're following along the mountain range."
It would be faster to cut straight across the grassland, but for some reason they were taking a detour.
"Why did you change the route?"
"If we keep going straight, we'll run into an uncle who's the same age as Chishō."
"Didn't I mention before about the relationship between those two?"
"That? The one where it turned into a sword duel?"
Maomao vaguely recalled what she had heard.
"Yes. The reason Chishō's arrival was later than ours was probably to avoid running into him."
"In a sense, those two are on better terms than anyone else."
Sparrow said with heartfelt emotion.
(What a pain.)
Maomao looked around once more.
It was more of a rocky desert than a grassland, with cliffs on both sides.
"Even so, a road like this?"
"It's actually a shortcut in terms of distance."
"We avoided it on the way there since we only had one carriage, but large trading caravans use this road."
In other words, it was a road too dangerous for small parties—one where bandits were likely to appear.
Surely no fool would attack them in their current state, with an escort in tow.
She thought so, but Maomao's unease wouldn't go away.
"I prefer the main road."
It was a mountain path. For someone riding in a carriage, the swaying was nauseating.
"Were there no other detour routes?"
"During this season, the northern detour has snowfall. The horses tire quickly, and if we camp, we need a great deal of fuel for the fire."
Since they had judged this route to be the best after weighing all the factors, there was nothing to be done about it.
However, Suzume's expression was slightly clouded as well.
"I want to get through this quickly."
Looking outside, nothing but barren wasteland stretched on endlessly.
To keep the horses from wearing themselves out, frequent rest breaks were taken along the way. One of the carriages was loaded with horse feed and water. The horses ate the fodder from the buckets with relish. Xiao Hong appeared to be feeding them too, holding something white in her hand.
"They give the horses rock salt."
"Yes, horses sweat quite a lot."
It was a waste, but apparently a necessity. She had heard that the giant deer living in the far north were fond of human urine.
"Hmm..."
Suzume made a vague face while preparing a meal.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just that having these concerns really puts me on edge."
Suzume deftly twirled the small knife she had been using to slice dried meat.
Watching her, Maomao felt an indescribable sense of unease.
"Suzume, are you sure you should be saying things like that in front of me?"
She asked, seeking confirmation.
Suzume looked blankly surprised.
"...You're right, that was careless of me. But my job right now is to ensure your safety, Maomao."
It was unusual for Suzume. The fact that even Maomao could sense her anxiety was no trivial matter.
"I really want to eliminate those concerns."
"What kind of concerns? Surely that bear of a man can't escape now?"
「Yes. His limbs are bound, and both arms are broken. He can't wield any weapons, but…」
Sparrow lightly lowered her lashes.
「The most dangerous person isn't the ferocious type like a tiger, but the relentless type like a snapping turtle, right?」
(Well, that tracks.)
The bear of a man probably bore a grudge for having his eyes gouged out, and he'd disrupted Shisui's work on numerous occasions. If they didn't catch him this time, he'd surely come poking around again.
And this time, he almost certainly harbored considerable resentment toward Maomao as well.
「I don't think he can escape, surely.」
「Do you think so?」
Sparrow set down her small knife.
But Sparrow's intuition proved correct.
That night, they made camp without having crossed the rocky desert. Wolves howled in the distance, making sleep difficult. It was cold, so layers of clothing were added, and a fur cloak was draped on top. Breath came out in white clouds, and ears stung as though they might be sliced off. The ground wasn't suitable for pitching tents properly. So they slept inside the carriage.
Once you fell asleep, morning would come soon enough. But sleep was slow to arrive. Just as drowsiness was finally beginning to settle in, her eyelids fluttered open.
Reluctance to pry open her heavy, sleepy eyes notwithstanding, she managed to force them open. The carriage canopy had been dyed red.
Maomao hurriedly threw on her fur cloak and peered outside.
The carriage was ablaze, flames roaring up. Horses neighed in panic, and the men scrambled to put out the fire. The one that had caught was probably the carriage carrying fodder. The fire was spreading at an unnatural rate.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the burning carriage.
That was why no one noticed the figure that had appeared before Maomao.
「?!」
A blow slammed into her side. Before she could even register pain, Maomao was knocked off the carriage.
「…You damned woman.」
There stood the bear of a man. His eyes were bloodshot, blood dripping from his mouth. Several of his front teeth were missing, replaced by remnants of ropes that had been torn apart by his hands and feet.
Both arms dangled limply. One of the torn ropes had a metal bar lashed to an arm. Rather than serving as a splint to support the limb, it was essentially a weapon.
The bear of a man no longer seemed to feel pain at all.
The arm that had struck Maomao down must have been the one without the metal bar. There was clearly intent to maim behind that blow.
(I'm going to be killed.)
The thick clothing had absorbed some of the impact, but there was still pain. She had to get up and run immediately.
The bear man was closing in. Maomao tried to scramble to her feet while backing away, but she couldn't stand. Her body was still numb from the fall. If she could somehow make it to where the others were, she might be okay.
But the bear man was faster than Maomao could flee.
She had to protect her head at the very least. Maomao shielded her face and squeezed her eyes shut.
How much time had passed? It felt like an instant, yet also like a quarter hour had gone by.
The bear man's arm never came crashing down on her.
"Sorry about that, Maomao."
It was Suzume's voice.
She opened her eyes.
With the burning carriage as a backdrop, she could see the shadow of the bear man and Suzume's silhouette perched atop it. Blood was spraying from around the bear man's neck.
"That opening I left when I looked away—"
As Suzume leapt off the bear man, his body collapsed to the ground.
"Sorry about the mess. Are you hurt?"
"...I'm fine."
She didn't know whether to feel relieved or shocked. Suzume's face was caked with spattered blood.
It was a good thing Xiaohong hadn't been in the same carriage. She should have been with her uncle.
"I told you I should've finished him off sooner."
"Ah... grr..."
A guttural voice rumbled out. Suzume immediately turned and caught the fist swinging toward her—no, she deflected it. The bone that had served as a movable support in his arm was no longer intact.
The broken arm crunched and splintered further with a grinding sound, and Suzume's body was sent flying as if riding the impact.
His teeth shattered, blood poured from his mouth, both arms hung limp and useless, and blood sprayed from his neck.
"..."
He should have been dead long ago, so why was he still alive? Perhaps it was the kind of tenacity that let a snake keep moving even after its head was cut off.
But Suzume immediately placed herself in front of Maomao. In her left hand she gripped a small knife.
Gritting her teeth hard, she charged into the bear man's reach.
"Please put an end to this."
Suzume plunged her knife into the bear man.
(She's done this before...)
The blade sank in just left of center, as though slipping between ribs.
There was no hesitation—she withdrew the knife with the steady, methodical motion of someone performing a routine task.
Even so, the bear man was still standing.
"I'm... I'm... not... done... yet..."
The bear man raised his arm, and Suzume leapt backward.
With a dull thud, an arrow lodged itself in the bear man's remaining eye.
"You're really something else, you know that?"
A man's voice, tinged with something almost like disappointment. It was Shikō. When Shikō raised his hand, his subordinates fired arrows one after another.
The bear man's piercing scream rang out. He was no longer intelligible.
But when that voice finally fell silent, the bandit who had called himself the One-Eyed Dragon stood dead on his feet.
"Sorry about that. We got a little distracted by the fire."
Shikō addressed Maomao, but the one Maomao was worried about was Suzume.
"Maomao, I'm so sorry."
Suzume wore the same smile she always did. What caught Maomao's attention, however, was that the knife was gripped in her left hand.
"Suzume."
Maomao placed a hand on Suzume's shoulder. Something was wrong with the right shoulder. She looked below it.
It was dark, and hard to see clearly. But the area appeared discolored, blackened. Maomao grasped Suzume's right arm. It had a sickeningly soft feel to it.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Suzume, you've really done a number on yourself."
Suzume's eyes had gone vacant. When exactly had she sustained this injury? Maomao had thought she'd only closed her eyes for an instant, but perhaps in that span, multiple exchanges had taken place.
Blood was also seeping from her abdomen. Maomao immediately carried Suzume to the carriage.
The bear man was bad enough, but Suzume was just as bad.
"Boil some hot water! And bring the medical instruments!"
"G-Got it."
It didn't matter whether the opponent was Shioki or not.
Maomao stripped off Suzume's outer robe.
The fractured arm was nearly torn in half, and there were contusions across her abdomen. Both were severe, but examining the internal organs took priority.
Yet at the same time, countless scars — a record of her history — remained on Suzume's body. Some were the kind a battle-hardened warrior would be proud of, while others were unmistakably marks of torture.
"Maomao…"
"Stop talking!"
"Just let me talk a little, pleaaase…"
Suzume stroked Maomao's cheek with her left hand.
"My right hand — it won't work again, will it?"
"I don't know yet."
"No, it won't work again."
It was nearly torn off.
Being called out on the truth stung. Maomao didn't have the skill to reattach a severed limb. Even if she managed to connect it here, it would barely function — or it would rot away entirely.
"If you could get it working again, prioritize my arm over my stomach, pleaaase."
"No. We start with the abdomen."
Organs were more critical to survival than limbs. Treatment had to begin with the stomach.
"No. If my right hand is useless, then I have no value. Once it's gone, it's over for me."
"That's not true."
Maomao laid out what medical supplies she had on hand. Styptic powder, cough suppressant, cold medicine — nothing useful.
"I can't afford to lose you, Suzume. No matter what happens, stay alive."
Maomao waited eagerly for medical instruments, hot water, fire, and Shioki's arrival. Outside, the horse-drawn cart that had been set ablaze was still burning.
"Hehehe, Maomao… Do you like me?"
"Yes, I like you. Now please stop talking."
If she could talk this much, there had to be nothing wrong with her lungs.
"What a lovely thing to say. A love confession from Maomao."
For some reason, Suzume's face looked almost childlike.
"It's always nice to be liked by someone, even if it's only temporary."
"..."
Maomao didn't have the breath to retort. She slid her fingers across Suzume's abdomen. The ribs were broken—there was a high chance they had pierced the internal organs.
"Maomao, you have your own circumstances too, so it's important not to let emotions get the better of you. But..."
Suzume touched Maomao's cheek with her blood-soaked left hand.
"Don't use that as an excuse."
Suzume let out a soft laugh—fufufu—and then closed her eyes.
For a moment, Maomao was startled, but there was still a pulse.
"Hey, bring water and the surgical tools."
Maomao received the surgical instruments from Shōkō. She pulled out a small incision knife and disinfecting
alcohol
from the kit.
(I don't know what she's trying to say, but)
Maomao bit down hard on her lip.
(I won't let her die easily.)
She clenched her fist tight and began the surgery.