Soon, the barrier dispersed, yet not completely.
The pale-white light screen melted into the air like morning dew, vanishing without a sound.
But Kobe Hikaru could still feel that the spiritual power supporting it remained.
As long as the shrine maiden at its core wished it, the barrier could activate and begin operating again in an instant.
At the same time, Kikyo walked down from the stone steps.
Her steps were steady, her white kosode and red hakama swaying gently in the night wind.
Beneath her long black hair, her face remained cold and beautiful, while her dark eyes were as deep and calm as the night itself, yet seemed to contain unseen ripples.
Hikaru stood where he was and did not move.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the girl to speak first.
Kikyo stopped five steps away from him.
It was just the right distance for him to draw his sword.
And just the right distance for her to draw her bow.
“What are you?”
Kikyo’s voice was calm, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
But Hikaru could sense the confusion in her heart.
The shrine maiden truly was confused.
Confused by a yokai who had helped humans kill other yokai.
In any case, at least what greeted Hikaru was not a demon-purifying arrow to the face.
“An oni samurai passing by,” he answered.
“Passing by?”
Kikyo tilted her head slightly, black hair slipping from her shoulder.
“Would a passing oni samurai help humans kill his own kind?”
“I’m not the same kind as those things.”
Hikaru’s tone was serious.
He really did not think of himself as the same kind as that horde of yokai.
To begin with, yokai came in different species, different types, and probably even different families.
Besides, he could not even communicate properly with most of those things.
Kikyo looked at him.
There was no hostility in those cool eyes, but there was no trust either.
Only doubt.
“You have the Shikon Jewel.”
She said it because she could see it directly, and because she could guess it.
From the sudden appearance of those demons, from his abrupt intervention, and from his strange actions during the battle, the answer was not difficult to infer.
Hikaru froze for a moment.
It seemed that even though he had not had time to reveal the Shikon Jewel himself, he really could not hide anything from her.
That made sense.
She was the shrine maiden who guarded the Shikon Jewel, after all.
This was only natural.
As he guessed, she had helped him earlier because of that.
“That jewel was entrusted to you by the old village head of the demon slayer clan?”
Kikyo continued asking.
Her tone was still calm, but Hikaru could sense the vigilance hidden beneath that calm.
If his answer failed to satisfy her, the next moment a demon-purifying arrow would probably fly straight toward his forehead.
“My name is Kobe Hikaru.
The old man entrusted it to me before he died.”
Hikaru decided to tell the truth.
There was nothing worth hiding anyway.
“He asked me to bring the Shikon Jewel to you.”
‘And while I was at it, it let me unlock the Shikon Jewel’s affection.’
Hikaru added silently in his heart.
Kikyo fell silent.
“That elder… is dead?”
“He is.”
Hikaru nodded.
“His injuries were too severe, and he had lost too much blood.
By the time I saved him, he was already beyond help.”
Kikyo’s brows furrowed slightly.
This was the first time tonight that she had shown any emotion.
Then, she lowered her eyes.
“I see.”
Her voice remained calm, but Hikaru could sense the heaviness beneath that calm.
It was simply restrained, so restrained that almost none of it showed on the surface.
Hikaru knew she probably knew that old man.
Maybe they had even been friends.
“In that case…”
Kikyo raised her head, her gaze returning to Hikaru.
“Where is the Shikon Jewel?”
Hikaru did not waste words.
He reached into his clothes and took out the jewel glowing with pale purple light.
He had come here to deliver it in the first place, setting everything else aside.
Judging by the situation, handing it over would benefit him too.
At the very least, following the jewel’s advice should raise its affection.
Besides, after unlocking affection, he felt as if he had formed some kind of mental link with the jewel.
Even if he handed it over, it would still count as holding it in a certain sense, so he was not reluctant.
The Shikon Jewel lay in his palm, its glow soft and mysterious.
Kikyo’s gaze fell on the jewel.
She did not reach out to take it.
Hikaru noticed that detail.
“What?
Not planning to accept it?”
“…”
Kikyo did not answer.
She only stared at the jewel.
That surprised Hikaru a little.
“Strange.”
After a moment, Kikyo finally spoke.
“What’s strange?”
“The Shikon Jewel.”
She said, “Its Naohi… is conveying information to me.”
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
Naohi could talk?
Although the system panel had shown that the Shikon Jewel could “convey information,” he had not expected Kikyo to receive that kind of message too.
“What is it saying?”
“It says…”
Kikyo’s brows drew together even more tightly.
“It says you can be trusted.”
“…”
Hikaru froze.
The Shikon Jewel was putting in a good word for him?
Was this the benefit it had mentioned if he handed it over?
No matter what, the shrine maiden before him was still unbelievably powerful, even if she had not yet reached her strongest state.
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi has conveyed a message to you: “This shrine maiden is very cautious.
I found a chance to say a few good words for you.
No need to thank me.”]
Hikaru stared at the prompt on the panel and, for a moment, did not know what to say.
This jewel…
It could actually take the initiative to help people?
And with only one point of affection, it was already this enthusiastic?
“The Shikon Jewel seals both righteous and evil powers within it.”
Perhaps sensing Hikaru’s confusion, Kikyo began to explain.
She clearly did not know that Hikaru’s understanding of the Shikon Jewel was, in a certain sense, not inferior to hers.
Her voice carried a faint note of thoughtfulness.
“Naohi represents good intent, while Magatsuhi represents evil intent.”
“If the holder’s heart leans toward wickedness, Magatsuhi will take the lead, and the Shikon Jewel will become an evil artifact that amplifies demonic power.”
“But if the holder’s heart leans toward goodness…”
She raised her head and looked at Hikaru.
“Naohi will actively convey information to the guardian and confirm the holder’s good intent.”
Hikaru understood.
Just as he had thought before, the Shikon Jewel was like a mirror, reflecting the true appearance of the holder’s heart.
And now, Naohi had told Kikyo that he could be trusted.
That meant the Shikon Jewel had acknowledged his “good intent.”
Even though he was a yokai.
Even though he had spent the past three months feeding a sword.
The Shikon Jewel still believed he was a “good person.”
All because of that single point of affection.
“So…”
Hikaru looked at Kikyo and asked, “Do you believe me now?”
Kikyo did not answer immediately.
She only looked at him quietly, and there was still little emotion in those cool eyes.
The night wind passed, lifting her black hair.
The shrine’s torii cast a long shadow beneath the moonlight.
The surrounding villagers had begun walking out of the shrine, watching the two of them from a distance.
Their eyes held fear, curiosity, and a trace of gratitude.
After all, Hikaru had helped them drive back the yokai earlier.
Even if he himself was also a yokai.
“According to every record, Naohi’s judgment has never been wrong.”
Kikyo finally spoke.
“Since it says you can be trusted…”
She took a step forward.
That fair, slender hand finally reached toward the Shikon Jewel in Hikaru’s palm.
“Then I will trust you.”
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi Affection +1.]
[Current Affection: 3 (Budding).]
[It has conveyed a message to you: “It worked.”]
Hikaru looked at the prompt on the panel.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly beneath the red oni mask at that suspiciously matchmaker-like message.
This jewel…
Why did it feel so human?
Compared to it, that broken sword Muramasa was practically embarrassing to look at.
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