But in truth, Kikyō's gradual lowering of her guard toward Kōbe Hikaru was not entirely because of the goodwill the Naohi had transmitted from within the Shikon Jewel.
As a shrine maiden, she had her own judgment.
She was the guardian of this village — and the one the chief of the Demon Slayer clan had placed his hope in, designated as the one worthy to inherit the duty of protecting the Shikon Jewel in his stead. She was, and had always been, independent. Self-reliant.
And within her field of vision, within her spiritual perception, within everything her instincts and reasoning could tell her — this Ghost Warrior called Kōbe Hikaru was strange.
Genuinely, profoundly strange.
As she had always known.
As the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States era, she had seen demons in the hundreds, if not thousands. Greedy ones. Brutal ones. Cunning ones. Hypocritical ones.
No matter what human skin they wore, no matter how honeyed their words — the murky, cloying demon-qi and the reek of blood could never be fully concealed.
Demons were demons.
Their instinct was to devour. To destroy.
But this one standing before her…
His demon-qi was dead. But his will seemed alive.
That was a contradiction.
Ghost Warriors were beings born from the fusion of a powerful human's resentment with ambient demon-qi. By all logic, they should have nothing left but an instinctive desire for slaughter.
Kōbe Hikaru was not that.
He had reason. He had judgment. He had purpose.
More importantly —
When he killed demons, there had not been a single moment of hesitation.
That clean, decisive manner. That complete absence of mercy toward his own kind. It didn't look like a demon at all. It looked more like…
A demon-slayer. One who fought with the physical combat techniques of a warrior, driving back evil with blade and body.
Kikyō knew the chief of the Demon Slayer village, and she had encountered no small number of demon-slayers over the years. The look in their eyes when they cut down demons — it was identical to the look in Kōbe Hikaru's eyes just now.
Calm. Focused. Pure.
That thought led her to a possibility.
This Ghost Warrior — had he perhaps been a human demon-slayer of lower warrior rank in his life? And had he, uniquely, retained his human consciousness even after death?
If that were the case…
Kikyō's gaze settled on the Shikon Jewel resting in Kōbe Hikaru's palm.
The Naohi was glowing.
That was the light of recognition.
"Here."
Kōbe Hikaru's voice broke through her thoughts.
He held the Shikon Jewel out toward her. The gesture was perfectly natural — without the faintest trace of reluctance.
That surprised her.
She knew the Shikon Jewel's pull on demons all too well. Even those high-ranking demons who claimed to possess reason would show naked greed the moment the Shikon Jewel came within reach.
And yet this Ghost Warrior…
He was simply handing it over. Just like that.
Kikyō reached out. Her fingertips touched the surface of the jewel.
Warm. Smooth.
And a faint, gentle ripple of spiritual power.
The Naohi was transmitting something to her.
Kikyō closed her fingers around the Shikon Jewel.
The jewel's radiance gradually dimmed — her spiritual power was suppressing the aura it had been radiating outward.
"Thank you," she said to Kōbe Hikaru.
It was the first time she had expressed gratitude all night.
Kōbe Hikaru blinked. Then he laughed.
Beneath the demon-warrior's red-patterned face, those crimson eyes curved upward slightly. It looked… a little ridiculous, honestly.
"Don't mention it," he said. "It was on my way anyway."
On your way.
Kikyō thought to herself.
She knew perfectly well that from the Demon Slayer village to here, there were entire mountain ranges in between. The entire journey, carrying the Shikon Jewel, would have meant an unbroken gauntlet of demons hunting him every step of the way.
That was "on the way"?
But she didn't call him on it.
She simply tucked the Shikon Jewel away and looked at him.
"Where are you headed next?"
It was a probing question.
If Kōbe Hikaru said he wanted to stay near the village, she would refuse. He was a demon — the villagers could never accept that.
But if he said he was leaving — then what would she do?
Even Kikyō herself wasn't entirely sure.
Whatever the case, the 'person' standing before her was, in the end, still a demon — an existence fundamentally different from humanity. An aberration.
"No idea," Kōbe Hikaru said, with characteristic bluntness. "I don't really have a destination. I'm just wandering. Looking around."
"Looking?"
Kikyō tilted her head slightly. "Are you searching for something?"
Kōbe Hikaru was quiet for a moment.
He was thinking about how to answer.
Tell the truth? Tell her he was looking for all manner of divine artifacts, legendary blades, and sacred barriers to build up Affection ratings?
That would get him declared insane on the spot.
"Something like that," he said, vaguely. "Some things… that are important to me. Useful to me."
Kikyō didn't press further.
Everyone had their secrets. She understood that.
"Then where are you planning to rest tonight?" she asked.
Kōbe Hikaru gestured toward the treeline outside the village. "I'll find a cave somewhere. Doesn't matter."
"Ghost Warriors don't need sleep, do they?"
"Not sleep, no. But I need to recover my demon-qi."
Kōbe Hikaru said it plainly. "Tonight's expenditure was genuinely significant."
That was true enough.
Though he was far from weak, Kōbe Hikaru had only undergone five Changes of Physical Transformation — in the grand scheme of things, he was not a high-ranking demon. His demon-qi reserves were limited. Sustained use of [Phantom Step] and [Resonance with Blood] had nearly drained him to the bottom.
If he didn't replenish soon, he'd be fighting blind the next time a demon crossed his path.
Kikyō looked at him.
Moonlight fell across the side of her face, painting that cool, composed countenance in pale luminescence — making it even more striking. Even more beautiful.
Kōbe Hikaru went very slightly still.
"There are empty rooms in the village," she said.
"…What?"
Kōbe Hikaru thought he had misheard.
Was this shrine maiden inviting him into the village?
"I said, there are empty rooms in the village," Kikyō repeated, her tone perfectly even. "If you don't mind, you're welcome to rest there."
Kōbe Hikaru was genuinely stunned.
What kind of development was this?
He was a demon, being invited to spend the night in a human village? Was that even logical?
"I'm a demon," he reminded her.
"I know," Kikyō said, her voice as calm as ever. "But you helped this village. The villagers owe you their gratitude."
"And they'll agree to this?"
"Here," Kikyō said, "I have the final say."
She turned away. Her white kosode and red hakama shifted softly in the night wind.
"Follow me."
Kōbe Hikaru didn't move.
[Shikon Jewel — Naohi: Affection +1]
[Current Affection: 4 (Budding)]
[It conveys a message: 'This shrine maiden's trust in you is growing.']
Kōbe Hikaru stared at the system panel prompt.
So that exchange had raised the Shikon Jewel's Affection again?
What exactly was this jewel's evaluation criteria?
He didn't know.
But it didn't matter.
The demon warrior raised his eyes and looked at the shrine maiden walking ahead — her long hair, black as ink, swaying in the wind like a waterfall set loose. Her white kosode traced the line of a slender waist; below it, the red hakama pooled and trailed like a flowing skirt, its shadows carved deep and striking, impossibly arresting in the moonlight.
It really didn't matter.
He had gained trust.
The trust of the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States era.
More than that — the trust of someone who had already, in some way, moved his heart.
By any measure, that was a victory. A very good one indeed.
He had bet right.
Yes.
From the very beginning, Kōbe Hikaru had known that there was only one way to earn Kikyō's trust — through the Shikon Jewel's Affection rating.
Everything he had done — the intervention earlier, this meeting now — had been a gamble.
A gamble that the Shikon Jewel's Naohi, once the Affection lock was lifted, would come to recognize him. That its recognition would reach Kikyō. That Kikyō would choose to believe the Naohi's judgment.
A gamble that he would still be alive to stand here.
And as it turned out —
He had bet right.
The fact that the Naohi could actually speak had admittedly caught him off guard.
But the outcome was good. That was enough.
Kōbe Hikaru let his hand fall away from the hilt of Muramasa at his hip and stepped forward.
The moonlight fell soft and white, soaking everything like frost.
As he moved to follow, the shrine maiden's expression held something unreadable.
She, too, seemed unable to fully make sense of her own choice.
She shouldn't have invited a demon into the village. That much was clear.
But she tightened her fingers around the Shikon Jewel in her sleeve, feeling the unceasing flow of pure, gentle goodwill radiating from the Naohi within — and once again, she felt certain that this choice was right.
The Shikon Jewel's Naohi did not make mistakes.
This demon, she decided, could be trusted.
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