새벽녘의 사수 슌란/17권

최종회 《마타기》

《뇌수》가 시라카사산에서 사라진 지 한 달. 3월은 봄이 찾아오는 계절이지만 시라카사산에는 여전히 눈이 쌓여, 외부인이 보면 봄 따윈 존재하지 않는다고 생각할지도 모른다. 그러나 시라카사산의 주민들은 봄이 예년보다 훨씬 빠르고 따뜻하게 찾아왔음을 피부로 느끼고 있다. 산길을 걷지 못할 만큼 깊던 눈이 녹고, 드문드문 새싹도 눈에 띄었다. 그리고 “마타기 마을”의 대부분 주민은 이런 따사로움이 본래 모습의 봄이라는 것을 기억한다.

슌란이 봇짐에 봉을 꽂고 집을 떠난 것도 그 계절이었다. 자택에서 마을로 향하는 길, 작은 발견도 무의미하지 않다는 것을 자연스럽게 배웠던 길. 올해는 그걸 깨닫게 되는 일이 유독 많다. 그리고 지금부터 걸을 시라카사산의 어떤 사냥터보다 장대한 길이라면 더더욱……

「예정대로 출발하는 게냐. 부지런한 녀석 같으니」

슌란이 아침 해가 뜨기 전에 마을을 지나가고 있는데, 마치 기다렸다는 듯 《두령》이 뒤에서 말을 걸어왔다. 마을 사람들이 잠들어 있을 시간에 떠날 예정이었기에 인사는 미리 끝마친 상태였는데도 말이다.

「두령님, 일부러 배웅을？ 불편하실까 봐 어제 미리 인사했던 건데」

「흥, 날 너무 노인네 취급 마라. 내가 사냥과 야영을 몇 년이나 해왔는데. 이 중요한 때에 몇 분 더 자는 게 뭐 대수겠냐」

「……감사합니다. 기대하신 대로는 아니겠지만…… 저 나름대로 수행하고 싶어서요」

슌란은 보기 드물게, 그리고 오랜만에 《두령》에게 진심으로 감사를 표했다. 주변이 어두워, 고개 숙인 표정이 잘 보이지 않는 건 불행 중 다행이었을까.

그는 자신이 마을 노인들에게 애물단지 취급 받아 왔다고 생각했다. 마을의 유일한 청년이자, 선대 《두령》인 아버지를 잃은 전설적 영웅의 제자. 하지만 그는 마음을 다잡지 못하고 타성에 젖어 살았다. 그런 취급을 받고도 남았다. 그러나 슌란이 길을 떠나겠다고 선언하자 《두령》을 필두로 모두 슌란을 말렸지만 떠나는 이유를 밝히고 설득하려고 노력하자, 결국 차기 《두령》이 되는 데 도움이 될 수도 있겠다며 보내주기로 했다. 마을 노인들이 그를 친자식처럼 여기고 있음을 알 수 있는 대목이다.

「새삼 무슨 기대가 있겠어. 네가 《마타기》로 남기로 했다면 그걸로 충분하다. 그렇지 않았면 나도 네 아버지도, 그리고 기운 님도 볼 면목이 없었을 터. 네 나름대로 해답을 찾아서 생각하도록 해라」

「……두령님…… 네, 그럴게요. 제 나름대로, 이 마을을 위한 해답을 어떻게든……」

《마타기 마을》엔 새로운 바람이 필요하다. 그것이 《두령》이 자기 분수에 맞지 않다고 생각하는 위치에 있으면서 그가 내린 결론이었다. 그리고 슌란이 발견한 가치가 그것과 합치했을 때 새로운 시대가 찾아올 것이다.

「……지난 사건 때 숙원을 이루고 위협을 제거하면서…… 저는 《마타기》로서 사람을 구하고, 전통을 지켰습니다. 이런 가치가 넓은 세계에 산재하고 있는 거라면……」

「……너는 변한 게 없구나. 좋은 의미로」

「그런가요？」

한층 성장했단 얘길 들을 거라 생각한 슌란은, 잠시 맥이 빠진다. 지금까지 없었던 넓은 시야를 얻었다고 자부하고 있었기 때문이다.

「넌 예전부터 오지랖이 넓달까, 충동적적으로 사람을 돕는 습성이 있지 않느냐？ 그런 점이 별반 달라진 게 없다는 생각이 드는구나」

나쁜 습성. 생각하면 그녀와의 만남도 그렇게 시작됐다. 만약 무의식적으로 누군가를 돕고 싶어 하는 충동이, 자신에게 어울리는 가치를 추구하는 갈등과 어떤 식으로든 공명했다면…… 그 두 사람과 함께 싸우면서 얻은 새로운 싹은 이미 슌란 안에 존재하는 것일까？

「……그러고 보니」

어둠 속에서 여전히 고개를 숙인 슌란을 보며, 《두령》은 목소리의 어조를 바꾼다.

「너, 《뇌수》는 박제화해 뒀다만 정말 필요 없는 게냐？ 이건 너의―― 아니, 두 세대에 걸친 숙원 아니냐. 네게 권리가 있어」

「아, 그거 말입니까……」

슌란이 토벌한 《뇌수》는 《귀신》의 위협까지 사라졌음을 확인한 다음 《마타기》들에게 회수되어 박제로 가공되었다. 그것은 이 땅에 사는 자들에겐, 위협이 사라졌을 뿐 아니라 인간이 산을 더럽히는 존재로부터 산을 지켜낸 상징이기도 했다. 그와 동시에 《마타기》들은 그것이 누구의 긍지여야 하고, 누가 존중받아야 마땅한지 알고 있었다.

「이대로 마을 집회소에 놔둬도 정말 괜찮겠느냐？」

「네, 문제없습니다. 집에는 둘 장소도 없는걸요. 그리고 원래 과거를 끊어내기 위해 사냥한 먹잇감이니」

「그러냐…… 그랬지 참. 알겠다. 우리가 소중히 보관해 두마. 그건 네가 마을을 지켜낸 증거이니 대대로 물려줘야겠지」

「감사합니다, 그럼……」

지금의 슌란에게 미래에 대한 불안은 없다. 있다고 한다면 넓은 세계에서 어떤 의미와 가치를 내 것으로 만들 수 있을까. 그리고 그 가치를 품고 「그들」을 다시 만날 수 있을까. 그런 막연한 불안뿐이다.

그래도 슌란은 떠난다. 거기에 벽이 있다 해도 극복할 방법은 있다. 나는 《마타기》, 산을 넘고, 생명과 마주하고, 그리고 가치를 사냥하는 자니까.

「그래, 건강해라 슌란. 기다리고 있으마」

《두령》은 슌란의 뒷모습이 안 보일 때까지 그를 배웅한다. 그리고 청년의 모습이 마을에서 사라지자 그의 시선은 곁에 있는 묘비를 향했다. 《두령》은 품에서 술을 꺼내, 선대 《두령》인 기운 오르기스의 이름이 새겨진 묘비에 붓고 옆에 걸터앉는다.

「기운 씨. 이제 얼굴도 잊었을 진 모르지만…… 당신 제자가 비슷한 말을 남기고 여행을 떠났습니다」

《두령》의 미소는 슌란을 격려해 줄 때의 표정과는 전혀 달랐다. 회춘했다고 할 정도는 아니었지만, 옛날로 돌아가 그 시설의 생동감만 뽑아낸 듯한 얼굴이었다.

「당신도 말했었죠. 대륙 전체를 하나의 산이라 생각하고, 산에서 사는 의미를, 진정 사냥해야 할 게 뭔지 찾겠다고. 저는 거창한 건 이해 못 합니다만…… 이러니저러니 이 마을을 지키는 게 싫지 않습니다……」

떠오르는 아침햇살을 받아 묘비가 환히 빛난다.

「《뇌수》 사냥과 “귀신 토벌”…… 지금의 슌란이라면 찾아낸 건지도 모르겠군요……」


슌란이 사유와 다우를 배웅한 건 《귀신》을 이기고 이틀이 지난 후의 일이었다.

안타깝게도 두 사람은 상처를 치료하자마자 일족 동료들과 합류해 《귀신》의 공포가 사라졌음을 알리고 다시 《사당》으로 향해야만 했다.

슌란은 자택에서 이틀 동안 그들과 함께 지내면서 다시 한 번 많은 걸 깨달았다. 시간이 지나 생각하면 이상한 얘기다. 기묘한 싸움을 함께 이겨내고, 서로의 전투 특성을 이해하며 신뢰를 쌓은 동료들. 그런데 테이블을 둘러싸고 앉아 보니 동료로서, 친구로서 새로 알게 된 것들이 너무나 많았다. 《숲의 유인》에 대해, 그리고 두 사람에 대해…… 그건 두 사람도 마찬가지였으리라.

그리고 슌란이 여행을 떠나겠다고 마음먹은 건, 순전히 두 사람 덕분이었다.

사유가 의미에서 미래의 가치를 찾는 길을 선택한 큰 이유 중 하나는, 그 《마타기》가 하나의 객관만으로 모든 걸 바꿀 수 있음을 책과 함께 가르쳐줬기 때문이라고 한다. 자신이 속한 곳이 이 세계 안에서 어떻게 “존재”하는가. 그게 사유의 탐구심에 불을 붙였고, 그녀는 일족 안에서 자기 본연의 모습을 발견했다. 그리고 일족에도 새로운 모습을 부여하고 싶어 한다.

만약 그 여행자와 마찬가지로 《마타기》인 자신도, 사유를 바꿔 놓았던 그 뭔가를 찾아내게 된다면……

슌란이 사유와 다시 만났을 땐, 그녀를 더 높은 곳에 다르게 할 수 있는 의미를, 또 그 가치를 자신의 손에 거머쥘 수 있을까？

그렇지만 슌란은 그때, 두 사람을 배웅해 주며 맹세했다. 언젠가는 꼭 따라잡겠다고 말이다. 여정의 의미, 다다르게 될 의미, 창조할 가치의 의미. 그 모든 면에서.

그래서 슌란은 떠나기로 했다. 또 다른 가치를 찾기 위해. 고작 며칠간, 《숲의 유인》과 함께 익숙한 땅을 모험한 것으로도 많은 것을 얻었다. 그렇다면 사유가 말한 여행자처럼 “이 세계를 거대한 산”이라 생각하고 맹목적으로 그리고 탐욕적으로 내달려보는 것도 좋지 않겠는가？

눈에 보이지 않는 사냥감을 찾아, 광대한 산을 내달린다. 그것이야말로 진정한 《마타기》가 아니겠는가.

그럼 맹세하는 수밖에. 이 대륙이라는 광대한 산을 질주하다가 사유와 만났을 때, 그녀에게 새로운 가치를 보여줄 두 번째 《마타기》가 되자고.


마수의 포효를 듣고도 잠들어 있을 수 있는 《마타기》는 존재하지 않는다.

유랑 《마타기》, 슌란 아이젠은 미포장 도로를 가는 도력 경트럭의 흔들림과 엔진 소리에도 아랑곳 않고, 꿈속에서 여행에 이르게 된 마음의 변화를 곱씹고 있었다.

그러나 이미 결심을 굳힌 슌란은 자신의 파트너인 엽총을 들고 경트럭의 짐칸에서 일어선다. 슌란이 몸을 맡기고 있던 캐러밴 행렬이 일제히 급정차하자 슌란 이외의 승차자들도 관성을 받아 덩달아 일어난다. 일부는 서로 부딪히기까지 했다.

저건가…… 슌란의 시선이 바라보는 곳은 한 지점. 캐러밴 행렬의 선두 차량과 그걸 둘러싸고 있는 변종 큰곰 마수의 무리다.

엽총을 손에 쥐고 짐칸에서 주저 없이 내리는 슌란. 행렬의 후미에 보이는 작디작은 시라카사산. 하지만 슌란이 지금 이 순간 쳐다보는 건 멀어지는 고향이 아니다. 달려갈 곳에 모여 있는 미지의 마수들과 그들의 표적이 된 상인들.

순수한 의미의 도움. 오지랖 넓은 나쁜 습성. 그러나 현재의 슌란은 진부한 말로 표현되는 이런 행동에서도 의미와 가치를 찾는다.

이 세계와 이 대륙에서 《마타기》로서 유랑하고, 싸우고, 사냥하는 자신이 손에 거머쥐게 될 가치, 찾아낼 의미.

그 모든 가능성을 향해 슌란은 나아간다.

이 산의 용사들인 소중한 친구들과 다시 만날 그날까지, 그리고 그 후에도.

끝

Finale: Matagi
A month passed.
March heralded the beginning of spring. For most, this would mean flowers and sunshine. For Mount Whitecrown, however, snow was still falling and falling, piling into heavy blankets along the ground. Those who lived on the mountain knew her mannerisms well, and they felt in their bones that this particular spring had come on much quicker and was far milder than in previous years. Still, there were fewer blizzards to chase travelers off its winding trails, and green bamboo shoots could be seen poking their heads out of thinner patches of white.
The elderly residents of the Matagi's villfage remarked that this was the true spring of Mount Whitecrown they remembered from their youth.
Chunlan thrust a sturdy stick through a bag of his belongings and stepped out the door of his home. He walked down a path leading to the village, thinking along the way of how that path, small as it was, came with so many meaningful discoveries.
The last year had been full of such little things—and if he could find them through a hunting path like this one, then he was certain to discover an unfathomable wealth on the new, far longer trail ahead of him.
'Leaving on schedule? You're a punctual lad, Chunlan.'
As Chunlan passed through the village before the sun had even risen, as though he were waiting for him, he heard the voice of the chief calling out to his back. Chunlan had intentionally gotten his farewells out of the way the night before so he could leave in the morning when everyone was still in bed.
'You should still be asleep. The goodbyes were what yesterday was for, Chief.'
'You think an old man like me can't rise and shine this early in the morning?' the chief harumphed. 'I spent many a long, adventurous night out camping for wild game, you know. I can get up early for something this important.'
'I know this isn't quite what you were hoping for, but I think I'll be a better man for it...so thank you for that. Really.'
Chunlan was long overdue to say this to the man, for it had been too long since he expressed his gratitude, and the times he expressed it were too few on the whole. Even as he said it, he was relieved it was still too dark for the flushed expression on his face to be visible.
He always felt that the elders saw him as a burden. He was the last of his generation in this village, a pedigree youth trained by his father, the previous chief, who had himself been trained by a Matagi of legend. What a waste of potential he was for his lack of confidence or direction in life. Surely they begrudged him being their final option as the next to carry on their will and would be glad to see him gone?
But when he announced his desire to leave, all of them, led by the chief, worked their hardest to convince him to do otherwise out of genuine want for his presence. It wasn't until he explained his motives that they agreed the journey would be an excellent character-building exercise for their future chief and welcomed the idea with warmth.
It is often said that children are unaware of just how precious they are to their parents, and Chunlan now imagined this to be the case with him and the village.
'Hoped for? You've found your pride as a Matagi—that's more than what I could have hoped for. Your father and Master Kiiun would also be very proud.'
'I'd like to think that. Thank you, Chief. I promise I'll find a way of giving back to this place after everything it's given me.'
Chunlan felt the village needed to bet on the winds of change. He was nowhere near ready to lead as the next chief, but if he could continue cultivating meaning in life worthy of that high station, he was confident he could be part of ushering in a new age for his people.
'Last month, I was able to put something behind me after years of stagnation,' he told the chief. 'I acted as a Matagi to save others and upheld our ways to eliminate that which threatened it. I want to find more of what changed me then in the rest of the world.'
'Oh, you were less stagnant than you realize. You haven't changed all that much in my eyes, even.'
'You think so?' Chunlan was caught off guard by this. He was certain he would be told how much he'd changed in so short a time. To him, his horizons had expanded far beyond anything he had known before, transforming him into someone unrecognizable from the man he was.
'You've never been able to ignore someone in need. All you did last month was just that. I'd say it was perfectly in line with how you've always been.'
It was true. It was this very instinctive habit that had been the catalyst for him to meet the young girl and start this whole adventure. If there was, in fact, a connection between his impulse to help others and his constant struggle to find meaning in his meager existence, then perhaps he really had changed very little.
'Ahh. Almost forgot to say,' the chief began, a noticeably lighter shift in his voice now present top account for Chunlan's downcast gaze. 'The preserving of Raiju's body is almost finished. Are you sure you don't want it? It was your—no—you and your father's goal for so long. You have every right to claim it.'
'Oh. That.'
True to tradition, once it was confirmed that the Oni was no longer a threat, the Matagi had retrieved the corpse of Raiju and stuffed it. It was a method of displaying that the danger had passed and the mountain had continued being protected from impurities by human hands. It was also a great symbol of pride, as the Matagi were always quick and sure to assign the glory of an arduous kill.
'Are you sure it's all right to leave it in the village square?'
'It's fine. There's no space for it in my house. And besides, I hunted it to cut ties with it and my past.'
'Then the rest of us will be sure to take good care of it. It will make for a wonderful reminder of how you protected us—for generations to come.'
Chunlan gave a small nod of approval. If his old regret could be transformed in such a way, then he welcomed it.
'Well, then...I'm off.'
Now with no such heaviness to weigh him down, his greatest worry was how much meaning he could absorb in the great, wide world to make his own. Would he find anything at all? Would he meet his newfound companions who changed so much of him again? Would they see how much he had grown after what he would come to learn?
Casting these bubbling thoughts of anxiety aside, Chunlan turned away and departed. Even if many an obstacle or trial arose from his new path, he knew he possessed the means to overcome them. After all, he was a Matagi—he could face whatever life had to throw at him.
'You take care, Chunlan. We'll be waiting for your return,' the chief said to himself, standing and watching till he could see the young man's back no more. Once he was out of view, he turned his gaze to the relic beside him of Kiiun Olkis, pulled out a gourd of sake from his rove, and sprinkled some of it over the monument before resting his back against it.
'I don't know if you remember his face, Kiiun, but the son of your disciple just left saying the same things you did.'
The smile on the chief's face was different from the one of support he had shown Chunlan. It was not a youthful grin, but closer to a nostalgic grin often worn in his youth as he thought back to his younger years.
'You said this whole continent was one big mountain. That we were merely at one of its summits, and to discover what truly was to be faced in life, we needed to discover what truly was to be faced in life, we needed to discover all it had to give us. I don't claim to understand such grand ideals, but then...call me a simple man, plenty content watching over our little home as it is right now.'
The relic sparkled as it bathed in the light of the morning sun. 'He took down Raiju and even a demon. The way he is now, I think he'll more than understand what you meant by the end of his journey.'
Chunlan had seen off Sayu and Dau two days after the Oni's defeat. As soon as their wounds were healed, they felt it their duty to rejoin their people, let them know the threat that long plagued them was no more, and make their way to their shrine.
He found it strange just how much he learned about them when he reflected back on that brief, two-day period of recovery. There they had been, forced to uncover one another's combative strengths and weaknesses out of necessity, placing a deep trust in one another that would ordinarily take years to develop; and then there they were, the storm that brought them together having passed. It was upon this respite that both sides realized they hardly knew who the other was at all.
They then gathered around the table as friends, teaching each other their ways in detail. From there Chunlan learned much about the Woodland Wanderers beyong what he saw in that book, and Sayu and Dau listened with gripping interest about the many traditions of the Matagi around them.
These conversations sparked his desire to depart. There had been a reason Sayu walked her path—something behind her unshakable faith that her every action along that path held meaning—and it stemmed from the vagabond Matagi and the book he gave her. Through its lenghty contents, Sayu grew increasingly curious about how her people fit into the puzzle around them, wondering if she could unveil new meaning to their ways by discovering a more personal purpose through them.
Chunlan hoped for much the same. If he could discover more about himself through a new path he was choosing to walk, would he, too, be able to return home a more complete person, and put his experiences to use?
Their goals were not to do away with old traditions, but to find new ways to celebrate them by creating better selves.
The two swore they would meet one another again—not just as friends, but as sides that would continue to inspire one another to new heights. Chunlan dearly hoped that by the time their paths crossed, he would be the kind of person who could expand Sayu's world that much more, bringing yet another dimension to her ever-growing journey.
The world was a very big place. From their brief interaction, even the small world Chunlan had always known—the snowy mountain slopes and its many winding trails—were seen in a new light. If he could learn so much from what he thought familiar, what else could he gain from running wild and taking in the great unknown?
Sayu told him that the vagabond saw the world as 'one big mountain.' If Chunlan saw it the same way, then he was merely off to explore this mountain's many slopes, on the hunt for prey not yet seen. Despite its grander scale, this journey and his actions were, in essence, still so very like a Matagi's.
'See you when I see you,' Chunlan thought to himself of the Woodland Wanderer, eagerly awaiting the day he could be the second Matagi in her life to unequivocally shift her life's course for the better.

---

No Matagi could sleep through the roaring of beasts in the night. Chunlan Aisen, now officially a vagabond, had been wavering on the borders of dreams regarding the day of his departure one moment; in the next, he was on his feet in the bed of a mini-pickup truck, his trusted surube—his old-fashioned muzzleloarder—held firmly in his hands. Every surrounding truck that made up a caravan had skidded to a similar halt, their cargo bed passengers being jerked awake from bumpers being smacked in minor collisions from the unexpected stop.
Chunlan scanned the surrounding area for any irregularities, picking up on the source quickly, a sloth of unidentified bears surrounding the truck leading the caravan.
With incredible haste, he then leaped from the bed of the truck and rushed forward to assist them. He could have sat in silence and waited for the danger to pass while admiring the tiny peak of Mount Whitecrown still visible in the far-off distance, but that simply was not who he was. His instinctive habit of diving headfist into helping others persisted even beyond the home he left behind. Once something he thought of as patronizing or unnecessary, he now fully celebrated it for the experiences it could gift him in retrospect.
His journey had only just begun. To where on this mountain Chunlan would go, he did not know. All he could say for certain was that by the time he reunited with his heroic friends somewhere along its meandering slopes, he would be a prouder self for it.
The End

最終回　《マタギ》
　《雷獣》が白笠嶽から消えて一ヶ月。三月ともなれば春の訪れの季節だが、白笠嶽においては未だに雪が降り積もっており、外界の者からすれば春など存在しないと思えるかもしれない。
しかし白笠嶽に住まう住人たちは、春が例年よりも遥かに早く、穏やかである事を肌で感じていた。山歩きが出来なくなるほどの吹雪は減り、ささやかながら新芽を目にする事もあった。そして“マタギ郷”の住人の大半は、むしろこの穏やかさこそが本来あるべき春の姿である事を記憶している。
シュンランが荷袋に棒を通し、家を後にしたのはそんな季節であった。自宅から郷に向かう道、小さな発見でも無意味ではないとさり気無く教わっていた道。今年は気づくものが一層に多い。そして今より歩む、白笠嶽の如何なる狩場よりも長大な道であれば更に……。
　　「予定通りの出発か。相変わらず几帳面じゃな」
朝日が昇る前に郷を通過するシュンランは、待ち構えていたかのように《頭領(スカリ)》に背後から声をかけられた。まだ郷の皆が寝床に在る時間に発つ故と、前の晩に挨拶は済ませていたはずだったが。
　　　「《頭領》、わざわざお見送りを？
ご迷惑と思って昨夜ご挨拶に伺ったのに」
　　「ふん、年寄り扱いし過ぎるでないぞ。
儂が何年狩りで野営してきたと思うとるか。
この大事な時に、早起き如き惜しむはず無かろう」
　　「ありがとうございます。ご期待とは違う形ですが……
　自分なりの修行をしたく思いまして」
シュンランは珍しく、そして久しぶりに《頭領》に対し、本心から謝意を示した。辺りが暗く、伏せた顔に浮かべた表情を見られないのは不幸中の幸いか。
自分は、郷の老人たちから腫物扱いされている気でいた。郷に残った唯一の若者にして、先代《頭領》の父を失った伝説的英雄ギウンの孫弟子。それでいて、当人は自らの在り方すらあやふやなまま狩りを続けていると来た。扱いに困るのも当然だ。
しかし、シュンランが旅に出る意志を打ち明けるや《頭領》を筆頭にした彼らはまず第一にシュンランを引き留め、動機を話すや無理にでも納得しようと努め、そして最後には次期《頭領》により相応しくなれるだろう、と送り出すに至ってくれた。まさに集落規模での“親の心子知らず”だ。
　　「そこは今更欲張らんよ。お前さんが《マタギ》である事に　
前向きになれたなら結構じゃ。そうでないと、
儂も親父さんやギウン様に顔向けできんしな。
お前さんなりの答えを踏まえて考えてくれれば良い」
　　　「《頭領》……ええ、そうですね。
自分なりに、この郷のためにもなる答えを何とか……」
《マタギ郷》は、何か新しい風に賭けるべき。それが、《頭領》が身の丈に合わぬと思うその立場に在りながら、彼の下した結論であった。そして、シュンランが見つけた価値がそれに合致した時、新たな時代が訪れるのだ。
　　「この前の事件で、悲願を果たし、脅威を払うと共に……
　俺は《マタギ》である故に人を救い、その営みを守れました。
こういう価値が広い世界に点在するならば……」
　　　「……お前さんは、変わっとらんな。良い意味で」
　　　「そうですかね？」
一皮剥けた、とでも言われると思ったシュンランは、しばしきょとんとする。自分としては、今までにない視野の広がりを得たつもりであった。
　　「ほら、お前さん、昔から節介焼きというか、
つい流れで人助けしてしまう癖があったじゃろ？
何というか、大本は変わっとらんのではないかと思うてな」
悪い癖。思えば、あの少女との出会いも、そうして始まった。もし自分が無意識に誰かを助けたいという衝動を持つとが、自らの在り様に見合う価値を求める葛藤との間にある種の共鳴があったとしたならば……。あの二人と共に戦い、そして得たものの萌芽は、既にシュンランの中に在ったのだろうか。
　　　「そういえば……」
暗い中に在ってなお顔を伏せるシュンランを見てか、《頭領》は声の調子を変える。
　　「お前さん、《雷獣》の剥製化は済んだのだが、
本当に要らんのかね？　こいつはお前さんの――
いや、親子二代の悲願じゃ。お前さんの元に残す権利がある」「ああ、あれですか……」
シュンランに討たれた《雷獣》はあの後、《鬼》の脅威も同様に去った事が確認され次第《マタギ》達により回収され、剥製に加工されていた。まさにそれはこの地の者達にとっては、脅威が去った事と共に、人間が山を穢(けが)れより守った事の象徴でもあった。そして同時に、《マタギ》達はそれが誰の誇りとなるべきか、それを尊重する事に迷いは無い。
　　「このまま郷の集会所に置いておいて本当に良いのかね？」　「ええ、問題無いです。家には置く場所無いですしね。
それに元より、過去を断つつもりで狩った獲物ですから」　「そうか……そうだったな。相分かった。
儂らが大切に保管させてもらおう。
あれはお前が郷を守った証じゃ。次代に伝えていかねばな」「ありがとうございます、それでは……」
今のシュンランには、後顧の憂いは無い。あるとすれば、広い世界の中でどこまでの意味を、価値を我が物とできるか。そして、相応しい価値を携えて「彼ら」に再び見えられるかの漠然たる不安のみだ。
それでもシュンランは発つ。そこに壁があろうと、乗り越える術はある。何せ自分は《マタギ》、山を越え、命と向き合い、そして価値を狩り取る者なのだから。
　　　「おう、達者でなシュンラン。待っておるぞ」
《頭領》はシュンランの背中が見えなくなるまで彼を見送る。そして、若者の姿が郷から消えた時――彼の視線は、傍らの碑に向けられていた。先々代《頭領》ギウン・オルギスの名が刻まれた碑に、現《頭領》は懐から取り出した酒をぶっかけ、傍らに腰掛ける。
「ギウンさんや。もう顔も忘れたかもしれねぇのに……
あんたの孫弟子、似たような事言って旅立ちましたぜ」
《頭領》の見せる笑顔は、シュンランを鼓舞する時のそれとはまるで違った。若返ったような、という表現も違う。ただ、ある時に戻り、その爽やかさだけを抽出したような。
　　「あなたも言ってましたな、大陸そのものを一つの山と見立て、
その上で山に生きる意味を、真に狩るべきは何かを探すと。
儂には大それた事は理解できやせんし……
それより今の郷を守るのが何やかんや嫌いでねぇが……」　
昇る朝日の光を浴びた碑が、きらりと輝く。
　　　「《雷獣》狩りに、“鬼殺し”……
今のシュンランなら、至れてもおかしくねぇですぞ……」　
シュンランがサユとダウの旅立ちを見送ったのは、《鬼》に打ち勝った二日後の事であった。
二人は名残惜しくとも傷が癒え次第、支族の仲間達と合流して《鬼》の恐怖が去った事を告げ、そして《ホコラ》を改めて目指さねばならなかった。
シュンランは、自宅で残された二日間を彼らと共に過ごす中で改めて多くを知った。後から思えば、おかしな話だ。あの特異な戦いを共に生き抜き、互いの戦いの特性を知り、信頼を築いた仲間達。しかし改めて落ち着いて卓を囲んでみれば、仲間として、友人として初めて知る事はいくらでもあった。《森の遊人》について、そして二人自身について……それは逆の立場でも同様だっただろう。
そして、シュンランの旅立ちの決意は、まさにそれらに後押されていた。
サユが意味から未来の価値を探す道を選んだ大きな理由の一つ。それは、かの《マタギ》が本と共にもたらした、一つの客観、それだけで全てを変え得るという事実であったという。自分の属するものが、この世界の中でどう“在る”のか。それがサユの探究心に火をつけ、彼女は一族の中に在って、自分だけの在り方を見つけ、そして一族に更なる在り方を付与したいと望むようになったという。
もしもその旅人と同じ《マタギ》たる自分にも、サユをも変えた何かを見据える事が出来るなら……。
シュンランがサユと再び相まみえる時、自らの手に、彼女を更なる高みへ至らせるための意味を、価値を携える事は出来るのだろうか。
それでもシュンランはその時、二人を送り出した時に誓ったのだ。必ずいつの日か追い付くと。旅路だけでなく、価値を見つけて、そして創造していくという意味でも。
故にシュンランは、旅を決意した。更なる価値を求めて。たったの数日間、《森の遊人》と共に見慣れた地で戦っただけでも、シュンランは多くを得た。であるならば、サユの語る旅人のように、“この世界を巨大な山に見立て”て我武者羅(がむしゃら)に、そして貪欲にひた走ってみるのも一興ではないか。
目にも見えぬ獲物を求め、広大なる山を駆け抜ける。まさに それでこその《マタギ》ではないか。
ならば誓うしかあるまい。この大陸という広大な山を駆け、そして再びサユに相まみえた時、彼女に新たな価値を示す、第二の《マタギ》にならん事を。
魔獣の咆哮を耳にして眠ったままでいられる《マタギ》などいない。
旅する《マタギ》シュンラン・アイゼンは未舗装路を行く導力軽トラックの揺れとエンジン音にも関わらず夢の中で旅立ちに至る想いの変遷に浸っていた。
しかし、一度奮い立てば、すぐさま相棒たる猟銃(スルベ)を手に、軽トラックの荷台から立ち上がる。シュンランが身を預けていた キャラバン隊を構成する軽トラック群はどれも急停車しており、彼以外の便乗者たちもその慣性に揺り起こされていた。一部には玉突き衝突まであった。
あれか――シュンランの視線が捉えるはただ一つ。キャラバン隊の先頭車と、それを取り囲む見慣れぬ変種の羆(ひぐま)魔獣の群れだ。
猟銃を手に、荷台から迷い無く駆け降りるシュンラン。車列の遥か後方に見える、小さな小さな白笠嶽。されどシュンランが今この瞬間見据えるは、離れ行く故郷に非ず。駆ける先に群れる、まだ見ぬ獣達と、彼らに狙われた商人達。
何の変哲も無い人助け。お節介な悪い癖。しかし今のシュンランは、かくも陳腐な言葉で表せるこの行動にも、意味を、価 値を求める。
この世界に、大陸に在って《マタギ》たるままに流れ、戦い、そして狩る自分がその手に掴める価値、見出せる意味。
あらゆる可能性に、シュンランは向かうのだ。
この山に生きる勇者たる大切な友人達と再び会うその日までも、その後も。
　　　完