As the old saying goes, "Mountains look closer than they are." The three large mountains had seemed near, but in reality, they were very far away. By the time Kaito reached the foot of the mountains, two days had passed.
The sky was once again filled with heavy, feather-like snow, obscuring the view like a thick mosaic and dampening his spirits. Kaito tightened the fur coat around him and, looking like a small snowman, arrived at the base of the mountain. In front of him was a narrow path wedged between the mountain walls.
"Halt!"
Two samurai in thick, heavy armor, completely bundled up, appeared on the cliff face above. They looked down at Kaito, their powerful voices cutting through the wind and snow to reach his ears.
"..." Kaito glanced up, then decisively raised his hands and slowly walked forward.
The two samurai exchanged a look and spoke quietly to each other.
"Looks like a kid from his size. I'll go check it out."
"Be careful. To be walking around so freely in this weather... he doesn't seem like an ordinary person."
"Yeah, don't worry. I'm a mid-rank samurai, after all, and I've got you for backup."
With that, the slightly taller samurai slid down the cliff, landing right in front of Kaito. His right hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist. "Who are you?" he asked warily. "What is your business in the Land of Iron?"
"Hoo~" Kaito pulled down the long cloth wrapped around his neck, revealing his youthful face. He exhaled a puff of white air and pressed his hands together. "I got lost in the blizzard. Could you please give me shelter? I can work to repay you. Please!"
Seeing Kaito's sincere expression, which didn't seem like a lie, the samurai hesitated for a moment. "I need to search you first."
"No problem!" Kaito said, cooperatively raising his hands. He had already buried his pack underground; he had nothing on him now. He was the very picture of a snowstorm victim.
This samurai was a good man. He didn't make Kaito strip naked in the freezing weather. After a simple search, he had Kaito walk in front of him, and they headed up the mountain.
As they passed his companion, he mentioned briefly, "It's a lost kid. I'm taking him to the back."
"Be careful."
"Right."
Not far from there stood a tower-like building, apparently an outpost. As they approached the door, a square-faced man poked his head out from the railing on the tower. "What's going on?"
The samurai explained the situation again.
"Is that so." The square-faced man sized Kaito up. He didn't think a mere child could cause any trouble, so he nodded. "Alright, let him in."
"Okay. I'll leave him to you."
The samurai opened the door, let Kaito go inside by himself, and then turned and left. He had to return to his post.
Besides the square-faced man, there were three other people inside the outpost. They were all gathered around a stove, watching Kaito, who was standing at the door, with friendly smiles.
"Come on in, little brother. Close the door and come warm up by the fire."
"Okay, thank you." Kaito didn't stand on ceremony. He took off his coat, shook the snow off outside, and then came inside, moving closer to the stove and holding out his hands.
The familiar warmth soothed his nearly frozen body, and he couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh.
"Haha, it's warm, isn't it? What were you thinking, going out in such terrible weather?"
"It's a long story..." Kaito casually made up a reason.
"I see," the square-faced man said. "The snow will probably last for another two or three months. It might be too boring for you to stay here. How about this? When we change shifts in a few days, you can come back to the city with us."
"Okay, I have no objections." To be precise, this was exactly what Kaito wanted.
After that, he began his life at the outpost.
As the square-faced man had said, it was indeed a bit boring. The outpost wasn't large, and their only pastimes were practicing their swordsmanship and building muscle. When their spirits were high, they would even hold passionate wrestling matches, heating up the cold air.
"Yo, Kaito, want to join in?"
"Hehe, no thank you," Kaito politely declined, shivering in the corner.
These samurai are all physically stronger than Uncle Beard, but they don't give me the same sense of pressure as that wandering ninja leader. And their sword techniques... they look a bit familiar.
They were very similar to what Captain Okihira had taught him.
The captain definitely has his secrets. Could he be the son of the former leader of the Land of Iron, forced to wander in a foreign land after losing a power struggle, staring in the direction of his homeland every day, washing his face with tears...
In a flash, Kaito had concocted a multi-million-word tragic novel in his head about a wronged hero's comeback. Even if that wasn't the case, the captain was definitely connected to the Land of Iron. And under the captain's careful guidance, his own swordsmanship had been completely shaped in the captain's style; it wouldn't be easy to change his form now.
So, should I reveal my sword skills or not? Kaito fell into deep thought.
"Hey, little brother, don't just stand there spacing out. Come and join us!"
The sudden invitation interrupted his thoughts. Looking at the enthusiastic samurai, Kaito couldn't help but press his back against the wall. "For the safety of the outpost," he said seriously, "you'd better conserve some energy. So, let's play a different game. For example, 'Ninja Kill'..."
A few days later, a new group of six arrived at the outpost to change shifts.
When they opened the door, a murderous aura from within made them shudder.
"Shinji, don't hide it anymore! You're the ninja who has infiltrated our ranks! I verified your identity last night! This is you!"
"Hmph, slander! I say you're the ninja, because I am the true Onmyoji! You were the one who brutally murdered Taichi last night!"
"Leader Sanpachi! Who do you believe?!"
Sanpachi blinked, at a loss.
"..." The newly arrived samurai were even more confused.
In the end, the real ninja, the fake samurai leader Sanpachi, won as expected.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Playing a game. Want to play? I'll teach you. It's more fun with more people."
"Yeah, yeah!"
And so, a game called "Ninja Kill" quietly became popular throughout the Land of Iron. Meanwhile, the game's original creator, Kaito, was setting foot in the capital city of the Land of Iron for the first time.
The capital of the Land of Iron was located in the valley at the very center of the three large mountains. Most of the houses were built along the mountainsides, and now they were mostly buried under thick white snow, their shapes indistinct.
The square-faced man, acting as his guide, said proudly, "Don't think this place is small. The main part of the city is actually inside the mountain. The Land of Iron is rich in minerals, so there are many mines. We've converted some of the abandoned mines into living quarters to reduce the impact of the cold."
"These houses on the outside are mostly for us samurai who need to temper our will."
"That's amazing," Kaito said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Hahaha, why don't you settle down here? We all like you."
In the few days they had spent together, they had all taken a liking to Kaito, this polite and well-behaved child.
"Hmm, I can't do that. There are people waiting for me to come back."
The Land of Iron was nice, but it was too monotonous and isolated, not suitable for a long-term stay.