Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.

Five Days Break - 04

Second day.

Inside an empty dining hall, Kotaro stared at his food tray with a thoughtful expression. The left eye that had a faint dark circle underneath blinked. When he came here, the food'd been prepared beforehand. It was a very simple meal with rice, grilled port, egg roll and miso soup. When he turned to look at the ceiling, as usual, the whole place was decorated by cobwebs, adding such a unique feeling he couldn't put into words to describe the experience. This inn was truly something else.

"What's wrong? You did not sleep well last night?"

That was Ingrid who was sitting on the other side of the table. Since the dining room was deserted, there were many vacant spots. But here they were, sitting in the same place as the Hell Knight decided to take the seat in front of him. She had a coffee cup with a little spoon to stir up the sugar inside. Ingrid took a sip and waited for his reply while her chin rested on the back of her hand.

"It's nothing." Kotaro replied and started eating. "I remembered something important back home and didn't get much sleep because of it, that's all."

Ingrid said nothing and responded with a nod.

"Guk!"

After drinking the soup, Kotaro's yelped. His head recoiled back at the horrible flavor. It was supposed to be a tender taste combining with seaweed, he didn't expect the soup to be this salty. They added too much salt! Coming from a traditional inn, this kind of food being served shredded another light on the quality of this place. If only he had a bit of sugar around here.

Kotaro reached for the cabinet where the seasonings were kept. To his surprise, the bottles were also covered in a thick layer of dirt. No one bothered to keep the whole place cleaned for business' sake. Seriously, he should definitely complain to the owner about this when he meets him.

That was not all.

"Hm?"

He felt a weird odor coming from it. Kotaro brought the sugar bottle to his nose and took a whiff. Goosebumps formed on his arms, his expression turned pale according to Ingrid's casual remark, something like "Your face resembling the color of that tree."

Well, he couldn't believe it. The content of this bottle he was holding and the rest in the cabinet, everything was already expired. And yet, this inn still left it here in the kind of public place where anyone can reach should they need it.

Breakfast didn't taste good anymore.

Kotaro pushed the food tray to the side once he quickly finished the meal. Saika and Tokiko always told him not to waste food. Of course, the soup left untouched because it became inedible to him. Insufficient balance of nutrition but no worry, some of that snacks he prepared for the trip will be deal with later.

By the way, seeing Ingrid sitting there with a coffee mug had him pondering.

"You're not going to have breakfast?" Kotaro broke the silence.

"Not yet." Ingrid said as she took another sip of her coffee. "Though I'm not in the mood to eat anything, I only need this."

"Can you point me to it? I've been looking for some. My room only has tea bags."

"Unfortunately, this is something I brought with me. I haven't used anything provided by the inn."

Did that mean the mug and the sugars are hers? Kotaro was curious. Though asking about it would make him feel like prying into her personal reason.

"Really? I thought the inn is serving drinks but turns out they have nothing asides from water and tea."

Sigh. If only they served at least milk, a nice warm cup of hot chocolate milk would be good for the day ahead.

"I don't mind sharing some if you prefer." Ingrid suddenly said.

That surprised Kotaro.

"Coffee?" He asked again to be sure. She gave him a nod. "Is that alright with you?"

"I have a whole pack. There's no point in drinking it all by myself on this trip."

"I see. Thank you."

His words brought out a noticeable curve on her lip.

"No need to thank me. It can't be helped since my companion is being so unprepared for his short vacation. In case you want to return the favor, feel free to do so."

There was no catch in her intention. She was simply enjoying her morning coffee and readied to share her drink to the one and only companion in this town. But hearing that kind of irking him, you know. She had to throw in some teasing in-between just to get a funny reaction out of him.

"I do appreciate the offer, Ingrid. Would love to try again the Trendy Stick brand you're having."

"Oh?" That sparked an interest in her eyes. "How can you tell?"

Beating around the bush was never Ingrid the noble Hell Knight's style, she straight up confirmed the brand name of the coffee drink she was consuming.

Kotaro didn't randomly guess and got it right by chance. He actually knew based on the smell coming from inside the mug. It wasn't something worthwhile to be considered a talent, might as well calling it a minor experience. With the Fuuma clan's former secretary greeting him every morning with a pair of coffee mugs whenever she was available at home, Kotaro came to learn about the difference in aromas and tastes of each type of brands she's been using. As a dedicated person, Saika would often switch the brand after some days to give him a pleasant experience after exhausting himself with the paperwork throughout each night. The change in flavor was distinguishable once Kotaro started to pay attention and enjoyed.

The instant coffee Trendy Stick was one among the brands she used to make him coffee.

"Because I'm a morning coffee person myself, too."

Only when Saika was the one wakes him up, but Ingrid didn't need to know that unnecessary info so he skipped it.

"What do you think of this world coffee? Is it to your liking?" He asked.

"It's quite delicious. This coffee made by human." Ingrid put down the mug and replied under a satisfied draw of her breath. "Had my subordinate not recommend it to me, I would have never known such a thing is suit to my taste."

"Glad to hear it."

Hot spring and coffee. Two of humanity's best creations managed to score ton of points with the Hell Knight.

Once he was done changing himself out of the inn's yukata and switched into his casual clothes, Kotaro decided to go for a stroll around town. Ingrid wanted to stay back in the inn and rest since she had no interest in sightseeing.

He'd been walking for about fifteen minutes on the path that leading to the giant dead tree.

There was literally nothing here. Not a single townsfolk walking on the streets. Not a single tourist attraction sites. Not a single activities, voices or anything related to human could be found in this quiet atmosphere. All he could hear was the sounds of nature engulfing a ghost town, almost like the entire population had left this place.

Peace and quiet were what he needed during these five days break. This place fitted all that requirement and yet, Kotaro didn't feel like having fun, only a brief sense of disappointment rushing through the mind. It should have been at least a bit more lively like the imagination in his head when he first saw the old postcard inside one of the boxes taken from his late bastard of a father's quarter.

Heh. Didn't take Fuuma Danjou to be the kind of person to keep an advertising letter around in his belongings. That was a long time ago, the old man probably planned to come here on a vacation or something in his younger days. Maybe that was supposed to be the case. Well, as the son who has to constantly deal with the aftermath the bastard old man caused when he was only a three years old child, Fuuma Kotaro hardly gave a damn to whatever intention the old man once had for this place.

Although, Kotaro would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't curious to know what this place was about. And most importantly, that ashen giant tree over there. There was something that he couldn't quite wrap his thoughts around it. Soon, the landscape changed. More trees appeared on both sides of the road and the sight of that small town hidden behind the thick tree lines. He reached a staircase where the foot of the enormous existence lied at the top.

It was going to be a long walk along the strangely formed slope and Kotaro was willing to do it as long as he can get to know more about the tree.

When he made it to the higher ground, an old structure built of woods welcomed him in the still air. It was a shrine. It didn't share the same color with the tree standing behind it. The shrine was made up of normal woods but left unattended for years, parts of it were already rotted through time and damaged by termites. Seeing such a state, Kotaro offered his pray and condolence to any of the god being worshipped behind that locked door.

"Can't see the root from here."

Guarded by a fragile-looking fence, the massive trunk continued to run deep into the ground. This made it difficult for Kotaro to determine the exact height of the tree.

"Still, it's odd."

If he thought about this carefully, things would not make sense. An old tree like this has been around for who knows how long. It could be maybe centuries or more than a thousand of years. The only thing that mentioned the existence of this huge thing was simply a postcard. The media outlets didn't know about it, no one has ever talking about it. Those who left this place could have done something to promote the location so the town's business can flourish properly and the world can still be aware of this tree.

But nothing was ever heard.

The tree withered, dead. The town became a deserted place as if it was forgotten. The people who used to live here must have given up upon the dream that this tree could be something special, adding to the town prosperity. They knew it was the only thing that could keep the place running. And when the tree died, most of the townfolks had left.

Despite that was a story Kotaro came up in his head based on what he'd seen, it would still be quite sad if that was the truth.

"Huh? They even climbed up this thing?"

As Kotaro circled around the trunk by taking a narrowed path not far from the building, he found wood boards nailed into the body of the tree. They went up like a set of staircase. Next to those steps, a long rope stretching, slightly moving in the breeze with one end tied into the handrail. Were they used to collect wood from the tree branches up there? That shouldn't be the case, right?

"I mean, there's a shrine right here."

The town probably worshipped the tree like a deity since an sacred place like that was built at the foot of this tree. Doing something like cutting the branches would be considered a violation against the divine, you know.

Snap!

"!?"

Kotaro caught that noise. It sounded like an object snapped into two, and it came from above. The rope shook violently in place as something was holding onto it. Kotaro quickly dodged out of the way when one of the wood boards crashed on the ground. He saw a familiar figure hanging for dear life as they lost their balance among the steps.

It was the inn owner, he was about to lose the amount of strength left in those grips.

"Hold on! I got you!" Kotaro shouted.

At the height of a three stories building, he couldn't reach him in time. Then, the inn owner let out a blood-curdling scream as his strength couldn't keep on. He was forced to let go of the rope.

Thankfully, Kotaro was prepared. His foot slammed down the reflecting shadow of the falling old man, which was becoming clear on the ground by the seconds. Focusing his weight on the knees, both arms fully extended, he successfully caught him. Eh? He didn't expect the owner to be this light.

"Are you alright?"

The inn owner was in shock. However, that expression lasted for a short moment before it turned into an aggressive look.

"P-Put me down!"

Startled, Kotaro did as the old man wanted. While he stepped away to give some space, the inn owner crouched down, his chest hidden from view. One of his hands inserted inside the worn out yukata to take out an item.

"Oh, thank goodness." The owner voiced his relief when he checked it. "Your beauty is unharmed."

"Owner-san?" Kotaro couldn't help but questioning. He walked around to get a better view of the item the owner was holding. "Flower?"

Much to Kotaro's surprise, it had the same pure color of the ashen white giant tree. The owner was expressing his care to it by gently stroking the petals with his hands.

"There. There, I waited this long for you to blossom. Things will be the same as always."

The sight was eerie to the bone, Kotaro had no other way to describe the feel creeping at the back of his neck. The owner was acting like he had an unhealthy obsession.

"Ah. Dear customer." The owner finally turned to him with a business-like smile. "You are here to visit the great tree, yes? Have a look around to your heart content. But don't ever climb these steps, because this area is restricted."

"O-Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

That mood swing came in a flash. Confused or not, Kotaro couldn't think of any other option. For now, he tried to accept the owner's advice. Delight at the respond, the inn owner took his leave in a hurry manner.

And then...

"Does this tree looks dead to you?"

Immediately, he stopped.

Kotaro's left eye fixed on the back of the elder who stood frozen after hearing those words. To the people of this town, this might have been a rude thing to say. However, to Kotaro, it was the one question deliberatingly asked to achieve a purpose.

"Dead?" The inn owner finally spoke. "Ridiculous. That can't be. It's not dead. The great tree is still alive! It continues to bloom more flower, you see!"

The man turned back, approaching Kotaro. The strange flower showed in his palm.

"For generations, this has been the treasure of our town! Our eternal heritage! We worship it and this here is the answer to our devotion! We place our faith in it so that one day it can make us into something wonderful!" The old man slammed a fist against his own chest. "Including me! It's about time I can be a part of it just like everyone else!"

While saying those words to Kotaro's face, the man was invading his personal space. Kotaro took a step back, hands raised up defensively.

"I'm sorry. I'm just voicing my opinion."

"Young man, you know nothing."

Ending the conversation in a deep voice, the inn owner quickly left. Kotaro gained some insights from the man's outburst. Even so, his words carried a cryptic meaning. It wasn't enough to piece together even a fraction of the whole picture. Kotaro continued to have a look around the sight out of curiosity.

Make us into something wonderful. Those words spoken from earlier continued to hang in the still air. It reminded him the old man's expression when he was caressing the flower.

Something strange was going on in this place.

Such a thought had stuck in Kotaro's mind until he made his way back to town.

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