“These people were bandits from who knows where.
They suddenly attacked me for no reason.
I had no choice but to fight back.” Kamamara explained with an innocent expression.
“But I only killed the two who tried to attack me.
I let the others go.
You should be able to tell that if I had really wanted to kill them, none of them would have escaped.” Kikyo’s gaze swept over the two bandit corpses on the ground, then returned to Kamamara, whose expression remained calm.
Kamamara met her eyes openly, without the slightest trace of evasion.
Silence spread between them.
Just then, Kikyo suddenly lowered the bow in her hand and returned the arrow on the string to the quiver on her back.
“Kikyo-nee!” Seeing Kikyo lower her bow, Kaede immediately ran out from behind the tree and came to her side, looking curiously at Kamamara not far away.
“It’s fine now.
Let’s go, Kaede.” Kikyo raised her hand and gently rubbed Kaede’s head, her expression softening.
Then she took Kaede’s hand and prepared to leave.
Kamamara looked at Kikyo as she was about to walk past him and suddenly spoke.
“Kikyo, wait.” Kikyo stopped and turned her head, quietly looking at him.
“Do you two want a horse?” Kamamara walked to the two horses grazing by the roadside, raised his hand, and lightly patted one on the back.
Then he turned to Kikyo with a smile.
“There happen to be two of them.
One for each side.” He paused, then added, “If you don’t want it, I can take it to a nearby castle town and sell it.” In the end, Kikyo still accepted the reins from him and sat on the horse with Kaede.
Clearly, when there was a horse to ride, no one wanted to suffer by walking.
“Where are you two headed?” Kamamara looked at Kikyo, who had been following behind him the whole time.
Seeing that they seemed to be going in the same direction, he slowed down and rode alongside them, asking curiously.
“Sister was invited by the lord of Akegawa Castle to exorcise an evil spirit in the castle.” Kaede, who had been staring in a daze at the iron club floating behind Kamamara under his demonic power, immediately raised her head when she heard the question and answered in a clear voice.
“Akegawa Castle?
What a coincidence.” Kamamara paused, surprise appearing in his eyes.
“I’m heading to Akegawa Castle too.
Since we’re going the same way, we can travel together.” The Akegawa Town he was heading toward was the castle town outside Akegawa Castle, so he was not lying.
Hearing his words, a trace of surprise flashed through Kikyo’s eyes.
“What are you going to Akegawa Castle for?” “I heard there’s a famous swordsmith there.
I want to ask him to reforge this thing into a weapon.” Kamamara raised his hand and pointed at the enormous iron club floating beside him as he explained.
“Oh, right.
I forgot to introduce myself.
My name is Kamamara.
I’m a half-demon.” He suddenly remembered that the two of them still did not know his name, so he introduced himself first.
“A half-demon?
I see.” Kikyo looked at him and said with understanding, “No wonder your demonic aura feels strange to me.” Then she turned slightly and gestured to Kaede in front of her.
“I am Kikyo.
This is my younger sister, Kaede.” “Nice to meet you!” Kaede immediately bowed politely in greeting.
“Hello.” Kamamara looked at the little Kaede in front of him and remembered her elderly appearance in the original story.
He silently complained to himself that time really was a merciless butcher’s knife.
After the three introduced themselves, they officially traveled together toward Akegawa Castle.
The journey was smooth and uneventful.
In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
Since they could not find a village to rest in before nightfall, the three of them decided to camp outside.
“You… what happened to you?” Kikyo had just finished setting up a barrier around the campsite and lighting the campfire when she saw Kamamara walking over with several wild chickens in hand.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Sister, the horses are fed!” Kaede, who had been assigned to feed the horses, ran over at that moment as well.
When she saw Kamamara’s appearance clearly, her eyes also widened in shock.
“Half-demons lose their demonic power at certain times and take on a human form.
I’ve only heard of it before.
This is my first time seeing it.” Kikyo quickly reacted.
Looking at Kamamara’s current long black hair and softer features compared to his half-demon form during the day, her voice carried a trace of curiosity.
“Half-demons can actually become human?” After hearing her sister’s explanation, Kaede stared at Kamamara with open curiosity.
“Your sister is right.” Kamamara walked calmly to the campfire.
As he swiftly cleaned the wild chickens, removed their organs, sprinkled seasoning on them, wrapped them in leaves, covered them in clay, and tossed them into the fire, he explained, “Half-demons have human blood in them.
At a certain time, they really do lose their demonic power and become fully human.” “So that’s how it works… Amazing.” Kamamara’s current human form was gentler than his half-demon appearance during the day.
He looked more like an ordinary human boy, making him seem much easier to approach.
Kaede felt less distant from him now.
She leaned closer to Kamamara, curiously watching his movements while secretly glancing at him from time to time.
Kikyo glanced at her sister’s behavior but did not stop her.
She looked at Kamamara, her tone carrying some confusion.
“I’ve heard that when half-demons lose their demonic power, they usually hide and avoid letting anyone discover them.
Why did you appear in front of us openly?” “Because I trust you, of course.” Kamamara took out a water flask and rinsed the mud from his hands.
Then he raised his head, looked at Kikyo, and said with a smile, “A beautiful and kind priestess would never attack me while I’ve lost my demonic power, right?” Seeing that Kikyo still wore that cool, calm expression and only looked at him silently, Kamamara smiled helplessly and told the truth.
“All right.
Actually, it’s because I lose my demonic power every night, so there’s no real point in hiding it.
“I can’t sneak away every evening.
Even an idiot would figure out the reason after a few times.” “You lose your demonic power every night?” Clear surprise flashed through Kikyo’s eyes.
She had not expected it to be like this.
She looked at Kamamara, then nodded lightly.
“In that case, there really is no need to hide it.” “Don’t worry.
I set up a barrier around us.
Ordinary yōkai won’t be able to enter, so there’s no need to be too concerned.” Kikyo knew that he had already lost his demonic power, so she took the initiative to reassure him.
Kamamara was a little surprised that Kikyo would go out of her way to comfort him.
He nodded seriously and thanked her.
“Thank you, Kikyo-hime.” “Brother Kamamara, don’t be scared!
I’ll protect you too!” Hearing Kikyo’s words, Kaede immediately straightened up and declared loudly.
Kamamara looked at her serious expression, as if she were saying “leave it to me,” and cooperated very respectfully.
“Then I’ll be counting on Kaede-hime to protect me tonight.” “Hehe!” Being called “Kaede-hime” made Kaede proudly lift her little head at once.
“Kaede, don’t let him fool you.” Kikyo looked at her younger sister and reminded her with some helplessness.
“Although he has lost his demonic power, the spiritual power inside him is also very strong.
Ordinary yōkai can’t hurt him at all.” “Huh?!” Hearing her sister’s words, Kaede froze.
She turned to look at Kamamara and saw him gazing back at her with an innocent face, making no attempt to refute Kikyo’s words.
Clearly, her sister had not lied.
“I’m not talking to you anymore!” Realizing she had been tricked, Kaede puffed up her cheeks and glared at Kamamara before turning and running back to Kikyo’s side.
Seeing that Kaede was still staring at him angrily, Kamamara could not help laughing.
Kaede-chan was truly adorable at this age, completely different from the old woman she would become when the story began.