In truth, Kikyo gradually lowering her guard around Kobe Hikaru was not entirely because of the goodwill Naohi had conveyed from within the Shikon Jewel.
As a shrine maiden, she had her own judgment.
As the protector of this village—and as the powerful spiritual user whom the old head of the demon slayer village had entrusted with hope, believing she could continue guarding the Shikon Jewel in his place—she had always been independent and self-directed.
And in her eyes, in her senses, and in her understanding, this oni samurai named Kobe Hikaru was strange.
Truly strange.
As mentioned before, as the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period, Kikyo had seen no fewer than hundreds, perhaps even a thousand yokai.
Greedy ones, brutal ones, cunning ones, hypocritical ones—no matter what kind of human skin they wore, no matter how pleasant their words sounded, the turbid demonic energy and blood stench around them could never be hidden.
A yokai was a yokai.
Their instinct was to devour and destroy.
But this one before her…
His demonic energy was dead, yet his “intent” seemed alive.
It was contradictory.
An oni samurai was an existence born from a dead person’s resentment fusing with demonic energy.
Logically, it should be left with nothing but the instinctive desire to kill.
But Kobe Hikaru was not like that.
He had reason, judgment, and purpose.
More importantly—
When he killed yokai, he did not hesitate at all.
That clean efficiency, that merciless attitude toward his own kind, did not resemble a yokai.
Instead, it was more like…
An exorcist who fought with physical techniques.
Kikyo knew the head of the demon slayer village, so naturally, she had also seen many demon slayers.
The look in their eyes when they cut down demons was exactly the same as Hikaru’s gaze earlier.
Calm, focused, pure.
That made her think of one possibility.
Perhaps this oni samurai had been a human demon slayer with the status of a lower-ranking warrior while he was alive.
And perhaps even after death, he had still retained his human consciousness.
If that was the case…
Kikyo’s gaze fell on the Shikon Jewel in Hikaru’s palm.
Naohi was glowing.
That was the light of recognition.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Hikaru’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
He offered the Shikon Jewel to Kikyo, his movement natural and without the slightest reluctance.
This surprised Kikyo a little.
She understood the temptation the Shikon Jewel held for yokai all too well.
Even high-level yokai who claimed to possess reason would reveal greedy eyes before the jewel.
Yet this oni samurai before her…
He was really handing it over just like that?
Kikyo reached out, her fingertips touching the surface of the jewel.
Warm and smooth.
It also carried a faint fluctuation of spiritual power.
Naohi was conveying information to her.
Kikyo held the Shikon Jewel in her palm.
The jewel’s glow gradually dimmed, because her spiritual power was suppressing the aura it released outward.
“Thank you,” she said to Hikaru.
This was the first time she had thanked him tonight.
Hikaru froze for a moment, then smiled.
Beneath the red oni mask, his crimson eyes curved slightly, making him look a little… comical?
“You’re welcome,” he said.
“It was on the way anyway.”
Kikyo thought.
She knew very well that from the demon slayer village to this place, several mountains stood between them.
Carrying the Shikon Jewel along that route must have drawn countless yokai attacks.
And he called that “on the way”?
But she did not expose him.
She only put the Shikon Jewel away, then looked at Hikaru.
“Where do you plan to go next?”
It was a probing question.
If Hikaru said he wanted to stay near the village, she would refuse.
After all, he was a yokai, and the villagers would never be able to accept him.
If he said he was leaving, then she would…
What would she do?
Even Kikyo herself was not entirely sure.
No matter what, the “person” before her was still ultimately a yokai—an abnormal existence entirely different from humans.
“I don’t know.”
Hikaru answered very simply.
“I don’t really have a destination.
I’m just walking around, looking at things.”
“Looking?”
Kikyo tilted her head slightly.
“Are you searching for something?”
Hikaru fell silent for a moment.
He was thinking about how to answer.
Tell the truth?
Tell her he was looking for all kinds of divine artifacts, famous blades, barriers, and similar objects to farm affection?
She would definitely think he was insane.
“I guess I’m looking for some things,” he said vaguely.
“Some things that are… very important and useful to me.”
Kikyo did not continue asking.
Everyone had secrets.
She understood that.
“Then where do you plan to rest tonight?” she asked.
Hikaru pointed toward the woods outside the village.
“I’ll just find a random cave.”
“An oni samurai does not need sleep, does it?”
“No, but I need to recover demonic energy.” Hikaru said it frankly.
“Tonight really did take a lot out of me.”
That was the truth.
Although he was not weak, Hikaru, who had only undergone five “changes,” could not be considered a high-level yokai.
His demonic energy was limited, and after using [Ghost Step] and [Blood Resonance] repeatedly, the demonic energy inside him was almost drained.
If he did not recover soon, he would be in serious trouble if he ran into yokai tomorrow.
Kikyo looked at him.
Moonlight fell across the side of her face, making that cold, beautiful expression appear even fairer and more stunning.
Hikaru was slightly stunned.
“There are empty houses in the village,” she said.
“What?”
Hikaru thought he had misheard her.
Was this shrine maiden inviting him into the village?
“I said, there are empty houses in the village,” Kikyo repeated.
“If you do not mind, you may rest there.”
Hikaru was genuinely shocked.
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He was a yokai, yet he was being invited to spend the night in a human village?
Was that reasonable?
“I’m a yokai,” he reminded her.
“I know.”
Kikyo’s tone was calm.
“But you helped this village.
The villagers should thank you.”
“They’ll agree to that?”
“Here, my word decides.”
Kikyo turned around, her white kosode and red hakama swaying gently in the night wind.
“Follow me.”
Hikaru stood where he was and did not move.
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi Affection +1.]
[Current Affection: 4.]
[It has conveyed a message to you: “This shrine maiden’s trust in you is rising.”]
Hikaru looked at the prompt on the panel.
So that conversation just now had raised the Shikon Jewel’s affection again?
What exactly was this jewel’s judgment standard?
He did not know.
But that did not matter anymore.
The oni-masked warrior lifted his eyes, looking at the shrine maiden walking ahead of him.
Her long black hair flowed like a waterfall in the wind, her white clothing outlined her slender waist, and the red hakama beneath trailed like a skirt, its shadows deep and graceful.
Indeed, it did not matter.
Being able to gain “trust.”
Being able to gain the trust of the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period.
And more than that, gaining the trust of someone who stirred his heart.
No matter how he looked at it, this was a good thing.
Not a bad deal at all.
He had won the gamble.
Yes.
From the very beginning, Kobe Hikaru had known that if he wanted Kikyo’s trust, he could only rely on the affection of the Shikon Jewel in his hand.
His earlier intervention and his current contact with her had both been a gamble.
He gambled that the Shikon Jewel’s Naohi would acknowledge him because he had unlocked its affection, which would then allow Kikyo to sense it.
He gambled that Kikyo would believe Naohi’s judgment.
He gambled that he would still be alive to stand here.
And now, it seemed—
He had gambled correctly.
Although Naohi being able to speak was genuinely beyond his expectations.
But as long as the result was good, that was enough.
Kobe Hikaru lowered the hand that had been resting on Muramasa’s hilt and stepped forward after her.
Moonlight rose softly, soaking the world like frost.
As he followed, the shrine maiden’s expression was faintly unreadable.
It was almost as if she herself did not fully understand her own choice.
She clearly should not have invited a yokai into the village… but she tightened her hold on the Shikon Jewel, feeling the pure goodwill flowing endlessly from Naohi within it, and somehow felt that this choice was right.
The Shikon Jewel’s Naohi would not be wrong.
This yokai should be worthy of trust.
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