I want to shine on you, and always like that dazzling sun.
I will defend you from all the darkness.
This is the truth from my heart.
If only our hearts could connect, I could get you to believe me.
Even if you can't see it now, don't lose it.
Your kindness won't be in vain.
You'll be carried aloft by the wind to somewhere that isn't here.
You'll cross the sea and cross time, and I know you'll blossom one day.
Whatever the day, I'll be there for you.
I hope I can watch over you like the sun for all time.
This is the truth from my heart.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit This is the truth from my heart.
Is that you, Balsa?
You sure took your time.
We were worried that you'd been captured by those people from the palace.
Where's Chagum?
Right here.
I've heard the particulars of what happened.
We have no choice but to head straight for Toumi village, then?
Yes.
Then let's hurry.
Balsa.
I want to go back to the palace and find out what happened to my brother.
If it turns out that he truly is dead, then I...
No. I can't allow you to go back to the palace.
I'll explain why later.
Besides, the first thing we need to do is to shake our pursuers!
Episode 18 The Ancient Village
How did the prince appear to you?
His appearance had utterly changed.
To the extent that he would pass for any child of the city at first glance...
He must have disguised himself to prevent...
...residents of the palace from finding him.
However...
One thing remained unchanged. He seemed as lively and sound as ever.
I heard what happened from Master Shuga.
Did you have any luck?
No, I searched all over Ogi no Shimo.
I'm sorry. I have been of no use whatsoever.
I am simply thankful that we have confirmed that he is alive and well.
What is most important now is that we do not fail in our next attempt.
Zen.
Sir.
What's this?
The goods that the errand runner delivered to the spear-wielder.
She was preparing to set out on a journey?
But from what I saw...
...the prince didn't seem to have any clue until just a few hours before...
...that he was about to go on the run again.
It appears that the spear-wielder was planning to set out for somewhere...
...even before she bumped into you, Master Shuga.
Fortunately, the contents of this pack will allow us to deduce her destination.
I see.
Judging from these quantities, she was planning a three-day trip with the prince.
This is not enough to cross the Misty Blue Mountains.
From this, we can deduce that they will either go south...
...on the Tonan highway or they'll enter the mountainous region to the east.
There is no chance that they will go to Rota or Sangal?
It's hard to believe that they would make for the border carrying provisions.
There are any number of inns along the way.
I see.
In that case, I shall start by dispatching runners to the Tonan highway barrier.
That will make it a simple matter to find the prince...
...on the single road leading to the coast.
Which leaves the mountains to the east.
Yes.
Now why would the bodyguard travel east?
They aren't as high as the Misty Blues...
...but the area is largely unexplored and covered with primeval forests.
I can't think of anything there besides a handful of Yakoo settlements.
That's it! The Yakoo!
When I met the bodyguard, I was perplexed by her words and actions.
She seemed to know even more about...
...the spirit within Prince Chagum than I do.
I wondered how someone from Kanbal could know so much.
She must have gained this knowledge from the Yakoo.
I see.
That would also explain the mud dolls we found on the valley floor...
...instead of the prince and her up in the Misty Blue Mountains.
There is a Yakoo settlement called Yashiro village beyond the terrace fields...
...where we first crossed swords with her.
So she had a Yakoo accomplice in addition to the errand runner...
Perhaps, but a trip to Yashiro wouldn't call for such preparations.
And even if they intended to travel to a settlement farther off in that direction...
...I doubt they would travel to their initial destination now that we've located them.
I will keep that possibility in mind, of course.
I will have them step up surveillance on the Sangal and Rota barriers.
Master Shuga, perhaps it would be wise to summon troops right away...
...to check every highway, as well as search Kosenkyo from top to bottom.
That would take far too long.
And one other thing, Mon.
I cannot help but think that the bodyguard is thinking the same thing I am.
I believe that she needs to find a fresh source of information, just as I do.
Are you all right?
Let me carry you on my back.
Go on, don't be shy.
Walk on your own two feet, Chagum.
It's all right, Balsa. I'm fine.
If he carries you, who's going to carry his pack?
Torogai?
Me?
Or is Tanda going to carry both you and his own pack?
Come on, you don't have to be like that.
Fine, I'll walk on my own.
And while we're walking, tell me about the egg that's inside me.
Tell me what's more important than my brother dying!
There's no time for that now.
What's the matter?
We're lost.
I see. So Toya...
That's right. If he hadn't risked his life like that...
...I probably wouldn't be standing here right now.
Torogai is taking forever.
Well, it's been quite a while since she last went to Toumi.
No, that's not it. This is just her way of showing concern for Chagum.
I see. Actually, I've been to Toumi once myself.
But I don't remember anything about how to get there.
I was brought there by my uncle when I was even younger than Chagum.
That's a shame.
My grandmother on my mother's side came from Toumi village.
Initially, she left Toumi to marry my grandfather...
...but once my mother married into the family, they both retired to Toumi.
Did I ever tell you about that?
No. Are they still alive?
I'm not sure. Probably not.
How are you planning to tell Chagum? You know, about the egg-eater...
I don't know. It's a touchy subject.
Plus, his brother died recently.
Maybe you should wait until he's had a chance to come to terms with that.
No, we'll have to talk to him about it eventually.
This isn't something that we can keep from him forever.
He'll have to learn the truth and gain strength from it.
So once we reach Toumi and find some way to fight it, I'll tell him.
Rejoice. I found the way through.
Also, I found us some food.
The vagrants who use this as a shelter appear to have seen them.
It's almost certain that it was the prince.
Yes. Both that old woman and the Yakoo man are likely her accomplices.
We just spotted a smoke signal from Zen and Yun.
There doesn't appear to be any sign of the spear-wielder stopping at Tokal village.
Taga and Sune were investigating other settlements...
...and they sent the same signal.
In which case, all that's left is Toumi.
I've heard that Toumi is one of the few villages...
...where the ancient Yakoo ways have been preserved.
All right, we will go on ahead.
Wait a moment, sir.
The terrain between here and Toumi is difficult by horse, much less on foot.
Jin and I will go on ahead first.
I believe the safest course of action...
...is for you to rendezvous with the others and follow our lead.
So we can't go by horse?
Very well. I will join you later.
However, even if you catch sight of the prince...
...please do not take any action until I arrive.
There is something that I want to ask them in person.
Understood. We shall do as you wish.
Teacher, are you sure this is a shortcut?
This should save us half a day.
Still not ripe, huh...
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit
Weather in the mountains sure changes quickly.
Which means this will let up soon enough.
There are no traces of them, but I find that all the more suspicious.
I concur.
But there are no clues to follow, either.
Looks like we'll soon have our first proper meal in two days.
You're hungry too, aren't you, Chagum?
A monkey?
No, a person.
Are you from around here?
Um...
Are you related to Kunda?
I see now. You must know my grandfather.
Yes. Kunda was always very good to my family...
...so I could tell right away that you were related to him, Tanda.
I see. You must look like your grandfather.
By the way, would that happen to be...
Oh, this? This is mashira liquor that I gathered in the mountains.
I knew it!
Teacher.
This is called a "road's end rope."
It's a charm where you rattle the nahji bird bones strung on it...
...to prevent evil spirits from entering.
I've seen these in Yogo villages from time to time.
That's just the Yogo people imitating Yakoo traditions.
The proper way to do it is to string it up across the entrance to a village.
Let's go. It looks like Toumi village is just across that hill.
It's as if the Yakoo way of life before the Yogoans arrived is preserved here.
I suppose they don't often see people like Chagum and me.
I suppose not.
So good of you to come!
I'm Soya, the village headman.
It's been many a year since we last had outsiders visit our village.
Are you him? The one they say is Kunda's grandson?
You're his spitting image, all right!
I regret to tell you that Kunda passed away two years ago.
Actually, we didn't come here to visit my grandfather.
We hope to gain insight from your knowledge of the old ways.
We have a lot of questions for you about the Nyunga Ro Chaga.
Standing out here talking won't do any good.
First, please come to my home.
We'll talk afterwards.
Why in the world did you come all this way to ask about some old legend?
Well, we're in a bit of a complicated situation.
If possible, we'd like to ask your storyteller detailed questions about...
...the changing of the Nyunga Ro Im that happened a hundred years ago.
Oh, is it almost time again for the changing of the protector of the waters?
Yes, just about.
Then, in a sense, you're in luck.
I've heard that my father's older brother, who died young...
...was a Nyunga Ro Chaga.
Is that true?
Yes, but my grandmother was so full of grief whenever she spoke of him...
...that I don't remember much in the way of details.
What's more, my mother was the village's last storyteller.
She died last year, so there is hardly anyone left in the village...
...who can tell you much about the Nyunga Ro Chaga now.
Why did you abandon your storyteller traditions?
As I'm sure you're aware, the training to become a storyteller is most harsh.
From an early age, you are forced to learn...
...thousands of oral traditions from sunup to sundown.
It is cruel to force all that on any one person.
I didn't care much for such practices, so I decided not to appoint a successor.
And besides, we now have the official history of Shin Yogo to consult.
Shameful! So this place is no different from the palace after all.
Excuse me...
I heard stories about the Nyunga Ro Chaga from my grandmother...
...so I think I can tell you a few of them.
Come to think of it, you used to visit my mother carrying yamabime, didn't you?
Anything you can tell us would be appreciated.
Can you tell us what you heard from your grandmother?
Yes.
According to my grandmother...
...in the body of my great-grandfather's older brother, the one who died young...
...the egg of Nyunga Ro Im suddenly appeared.
Nyunga Ro Im is a spirit who lives deep underwater in Nayug's seas...
...and is shaped like a giant shellfish.
The life force from its mouth becomes clouds in Sagu and creates rain.
But once every hundred years, Nyunga Ro Im lays an egg and dies.
When that happens, the clouds vanish from the skies...
...and we experience a period of dry weather.
She said we have cared for the guardian of the spirit since ancient times...
...so that the egg of the next spirit would hatch safely.
But that is usually only until the egg matures.
When the time comes for Nyunga Ro Im's egg to hatch...
...the guardian travels alone to the land of feasting, never to be seen again.
Overcome with grief, my great-grandmother's mother...
...begged the people of the village to help protect her son as well...
...as he had become a guardian of the spirit.
You know, I remember hearing about that myself.
Master Shuga, it's a signal from the commander.
It looks like there is a shortcut in that direction.
I see.
And beyond it lies Toumi.
So, what did the villagers do with the Nyunga Ro Chaga?
When the spring day of equality drew near...
...the Nyunga Ro Chaga left the village like a bird beginning its migration.
The adult villagers followed him on his long journey.
At long last, they reached a large spring at the headwaters of the Aoyumi River...
...where the shigu salua bloomed everywhere.
There, the guardian of the spirit prepared to return the egg to Nayug.
But Rarunga had also come to this spring from Nayug.
Like an egg-eating snake striking its prey, Rarunga attacked the Nyunga Ro Chaga.
And before the eyes of the watching adults...
...using enormous claws that could be neither seen nor felt by humans...
...it ripped the Nyunga Ro Chaga in two.
Am I... Am I going to die like that too, Balsa?
Die like what? Who in the world is this child?
The fact is, this boy is the current Nyunga Ro Chaga.
As I sat huddled and alone, holding back the tears on those nights...
When it felt like I was about to succumb to my doubts...
...there you were, at my side before I knew it.
It was none other than you who was there for me.
I keep wishing, "I want to be strong." I stumble and hurt myself again.
But because I have you to believe in, I can get back to my feet.
I simply want to tell my dear one, "Thank you."
At the top of my lungs, again and again.
I call out to my precious loved one.
Is my voice reaching you?
In this world that always changes, human warmth never does.
I'm certain I sensed the presence of the one that I hold dear.
It is when they are beaten down by fate that people reveal their true selves.
They become distressed, angry, and then they cross paths.
Next time, "Escape."
Balsa wields her weapon filled with determination.