Sneaking and Sneaked Upon Ignorant Mice [Part 2]
Still in one of the ninjas’ POV
“Leader, what just happened, exactly?” (*in Imperial Japanese)
My subordinates who hadn’t grasped the situation looked at me fearfully.
None of us had experienced a one-sided defeat before.
I struggled through life and death many times to reach my current position as a jounin[1]. I thought I had lost my emotions a long time ago. And yet, everyone was shaken by fear.
[T/N 1: Jounin (上忍), literally top nin(ja), is the highest rank of ninja]
By instinct, I understood that I could have been facing my death while failing to accomplish my duty in this faraway land where I didn’t even know the language. My body trembled uncontrollably, and this worst-case scenario sent thoughts racing through my mind.
At the very least, I had to return the Imperial Prince to Imperial Japan safely…
I recalled the face of the Imperial Prince who travelled to the Kingdom despite his noble status.
Imperial Prince Tasuku is the treasure of Imperial Japan. He only took a short time to learn the Balitu language and is the only person who somehow understands the Kingdom language.
When Imperial Japanese, who were not used to learning foreign languages, studied the Balitu language, most experienced frustration. But the Imperial Prince mastered it all with his natural intelligence and hard work.
To Imperial Japan struggling with food shortages, he was the one person we couldn’t afford to lose.
Suddenly my body stopped trembling.
My subordinates, too, were not shaking anymore.
Well, to be exact, we were unable to tremble.
Whilst we were unaware, something that looked like purple thread had coiled around our bodies, restricting our movement.
I wanted to shout, but my mouth was also covered with something, and I was unable to even make a noise.
For ninjas, who are sensitive to the environment, it has to be impossible not to sense the presence of others.
In what limited field of vision I still had, a spider loomed into view.
A giant purple spider as big as a person’s head.
What is happening right now?
I couldn’t understand it at all.
After a while, some burly men came to the attic to collect myself and my four subordinates.
Did that monster spider work for humans?
Did Kingdom people keep spiritual creatures[2] that even ninjas are no match for?
[T/N 2: Spiritual creatures, or 化物 bakemono typically, but not always, refers to imaginary monsters in Japanese folklore. Note: different from monsters that threaten cities (魔物 mamono)]
I thought we had done well at the royal castle. Had they been letting us roam around freely while actually monitoring us? Perhaps even as we erased our presence and lurked around, trailing behind us was the invisible creature who had sent a large number of my subordinates flying without a sound. Or the giant spider creature who had bound us before we realized it.
I was unable to resist, due to the purple thread. While I was being carried, regret and anxiety washed over me, and thus I desperately gritted my teeth, but even that little act was thwarted by the thread.
I can’t even commit suicide with the poison I hid in my teeth?
As we arrived at the room in despair, the girl who could speak Imperial Japanese at the banquet was waiting for us there with an innocent smile unbefitting of the situation.
Behind that girl, I could see that my 14 subordinates who had been struck earlier were laid down on the floor. Those ninjas were members of my elite force.
Her innocent smile and my subordinates’ bodies…
For the first time in my life, anger, sorrow, and all sorts of emotions surged through my whole body. Despite that, my body couldn’t even tremble, let alone voice it.
♠♠♠
Author’s words: No matter how outstanding a ninja might be, he still wouldn’t stand a chance against Meowcom and Valsok.
