Chapter 28- Eccentric Swordsman (Part 1)
Sakura trees everywhere, old-style Japanese houses and buildings, and people that wore clothes similar to the yukatas Asher saw many times in anime and manga. It was the perfect image of an old Japanese city.
"This is… amazing!" Asher said as his eyes sparkled with sheer excitement like a child that was thrown into an amusement park. He couldn't believe that such a place existed in this world and yet he couldn't be any more delighted to see it with his own eyes.
"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Rain asked with a confused look, not understanding why Asher was acting like that.
"You don't understand. This palace looks gorgeous!"
"... Is it?" The girl looked at the southern settlement again as if trying to discern what made it look 'beautiful'. But, since she lived here for the better part of her life, she didn't notice where the beauty lay.
"That's why I said you won't understand! Anyway, let's go! I want to explore this place!" Then, Asher stormed off quickly.
"Sigh, what an odd guy." With a sigh, Rain followed after him.
The southern star settlement is by far the biggest one in the whole Forbidden Lands, well, what was discovered of it at least. Its size was easily twice that of the northern star settlement and if you include the forest nearby, it becomes easily 5 times. The reason for that is simple. This particular settlement was very close to one of the major cities ruled over by one of the four big clans.
In fact, the distance between the two is a mere 100 miles which is still far away but if put in comparison with the sheer size of the Forbidden Lands, it dwarfs that number to become almost nothing.
"Oh! Guards have katanas!" Asher murmured as he approached the gates where he found two men with long, Japanese-style swords stuck to their waists.
"Stop there!" One of them said in a slightly different accent.
Asher didn't mind the rude behavior and simply lifted his hands up. Most of his stuff is either in his personal storage or the storage device he had.
"State your purpose for coming here!"
As Asher was about to respond, Rain tapped his should once signaling for him to just stay silent.
"He's with me."
The guards looked at Rain with squinted eyes before their eyes widened slightly.
"Rain! You're back!" One of them said with a wide smile.
"Open the gate."
"Sure, sure." The gates immediately opened and the two guards sidestepped to allow for Rain and Asher to pass.
"They know you?"
"Yeah… Let's go."
'Interesting. That 'Rain' has people that like her? Sigh, this is really confusing.' Rubbing his chin, Asher walked after the girl dazedly.
However, the moment he stepped inside the settlement, his child-like side kicked in and he was quickly occupied with the place itself.
"So beautiful…"
The place was bustling with life, even more than the northern settlement by a large step. The people also seemed less poor a first glance. The smell of grilled meat permeated the atmosphere and the sound of merchants selling goods was like a breath of fresh air.
"Woah! Is that a takoyaki?!" Asher's eyes sparkled as he saw a man cooking nearby. He quickly ran there and checked the stall.
"Oi, are you really going to start looking around now? I need to meet someone before I can show you around."
"Oh, my bad."
For a second, Asher forgot why he even followed Rain in the first place which was to fulfill her initial goal.
So, the two continued walking through the streets of the settlement till they reached an area slightly far away from the bustling main road. During that trip, many people stopped and greeted Rain. This detail was enough to shock Asher each time it happened and make him reconsider his view of this version of Rain that he met.
In fact, in general, this Rain was nowhere near as cold as the Rain from the book. She also didn't seem as cunning or heartless.
'Oh, a small hill?' Looking at the small dirt road they took. It led to a small, grassy hill with a big tree at the top and what seemed to be a small house next to it.
"Father… I'm back!" The moment she reached the entrance to the house, Rain announced her presence before opening the door.
'Wait, father?! She has a father?!' Asher, who stood outside found himself completely flabbergasted by the words Rain said.
'Another big change to the whole story! Goddamit!' Asher felt his head spin from the sheer problem that he was facing at the moment. This alone could be enough to create a butterfly effect that will change the whole future of Zombie Highschool.
"Sigh, this is such a pain."
Suddenly, Asher's presence appear behind him and then, a cold, sharp object touched his neck. The boy didn't even have time to react as his body froze in place. The only thing that kept moving was his eyes which stared down silently.
'A sword… When did he appear behind me?!' He could see a blade that was glazing over his neck. The man had somehow snuck up behind Asher and put his sword on his neck as if it was nothing.
However, weirdly enough, Asher didn't immediately panic and instead took a few deep breaths.
"Who are you?" A rough voice asked him from behind.
"Ok, first, calm down. I didn't come here with any bad intentions."
"How would I know that? Huh?! Should I slit your throat then?!"
"Wait! I know Rain. Y-You are her dad… right?"
The moment Asher uttered the name 'Rain' the sword was pushed away from his neck slightly.
"You know my daughter?"
"Y-Yes, she's inside the house now. You can ask her."
"Hmm." Thinking for a moment, the man finally decided to release Asher. When the latter saw the blade leave his personal area, he sighed in relief before turning around.
The man that tried to assault him was different from what he thought. He was tall, with a very good posture but a clear lack of muscles. He had an amigasa on his head and a green yukata. His bearded face was wild and yet also showed fading signs of being quite good-looking before.
However, it was clear that sickness had destroyed the man's body.
"What's your name, lad?" He asked as he adjusted his amigasa.
"Asher…"
"So, what kind of rela-" Before the man could ask, Rain came outside.
"Oh, there you are. You already met Asher?"
"Who is this kid, Rain? Your lover?"
"No, we aren't lovers." Immediately, Rain and Asher shook their heads and replied in weird sync.
That coincidence made them look at each other confusedly.
"Like hell, I would believe that. You two can read each other's minds!"