Yae Village was an extremely xenophobic village. When Shun and Theresa followed Yae Sakura here, almost everyone stared at the two of them with ill intent.
Only after Shun deliberately revealed the hilt of the Hanyuu Hyouten at his waist did those gazes withdraw.
In the Far East of the Warring States period, samurai had the right to test their blades on roadside commoners. Regardless of whether Shun was a samurai or not, at least right now, with a sword at his waist and wearing expensive kimono, he was a samurai.
When away from home, one's identity was whatever one claimed. This included the story he had given Yae Sakura—he had said he was a samurai.
"No wonder Miss Yae let us stay at the shrine temporarily. Are the villagers here all so hostile?" As a Valkyrie, Theresa was also very sensitive to gazes and naturally felt the strong malice from the surrounding villagers.
"Poor mountains and evil waters produce unruly people. It has always been this way. In this village, you'd better not stray too far from me, otherwise I might not be able to protect you."
"Is it that serious?" Theresa was startled by Shun's words and quickly grabbed his sleeve, afraid of being even one step away.
Shun remembered that in the plot, Theresa was treated as a sacrifice in Yae Village. Under Higanbana's control, the villagers even recreated the scene from back then by severing Yae Rin's tendons and hanging her on the sacrificial altar. Although it hadn't happened yet, Shun still held grudges across space. After all, the people in this space weren't real—the real ones had already been killed by Yae Sakura five hundred years ago.
When the time came, he would definitely take the opportunity to chop all these unruly people to death…
? Wait, when did I become so bloodthirsty? Shun suddenly noticed something was wrong. By the time he reacted, his hand had unconsciously moved to his sword.
Was it the Corruption Authority or something else? It had already begun eroding his mind without him noticing?
Although he wasn't sure, for safety's sake, he began silently reciting the Sword Heart Incantation to keep his mind clear. He also taught the incantation to Theresa, telling her to recite it silently in her heart whenever possible. Although he didn't know if it could fully resist the Authority's erosion, it should at least have some effect.
After passing through a long mountain path and rows of torii gates, a rather large shrine came into view for the two of them.
"You two, we've arrived. This is Yae Shrine. You can look around here first while I prepare rooms for you to stay in temporarily."
Yae Sakura led Shun and Theresa to the approach in front of the main hall and had them wait there.
Only after Yae Sakura left did the two begin whispering. Shun poked Theresa and said: "If someone asks what my name is later, just say Uchiha Sasuke."
"? Ah? Why?" Theresa only heard that it was a Far Eastern name and didn't understand why Shun wanted to say that.
"Are you stupid? Have you ever seen a Far Eastern samurai with the surname Shun? You don't look like a Far Easterner at all. If you say your name, people will only think it's some exotic barbarian name. I'm different."
Although Yae Sakura and Higanbana most likely knew they came from outside, they still had to keep up appearances. At the very least, they couldn't tear off the facade right after entering. As long as they didn't expose it, Shun was willing to continue the act.
"Oh, I understand. But why Uchiha Sasuke?" Theresa asked again.
"Because he's as handsome as me." Shun answered with great confidence.
"Oh." Theresa couldn't help recalling the time when she had been charmed by Shun and thought to herself that it wasn't necessarily true.
"About this Yae Sakura, she actually mentioned Grandma Kallen's name earlier. Don't you think that's very strange?"
"This matter is very complicated. We'll talk about it tonight. In any case, remember to be extra careful here. Don't trust anyone except me, not even Yae Sakura."
Hearing Shun's solemn instruction, Theresa also realized the seriousness of the situation, nodded, and continued asking: "Is the situation this time really that critical? Even you find it difficult?"
"If I thought it was easy, I wouldn't have reinforced the seal at the first moment. I originally planned to wait until our forces had expanded a bit more before forcefully speedrunning this dungeon, but this incident happened."
Hearing Shun's words, Theresa couldn't help feeling a bit guilty. She lowered her head and apologized softly: "I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't careful enough that I dragged you into such a dangerous situation too."
"It's not your fault. It's all Three Kingdoms Kill's fault. Just give it a bad review after we get out." Actually, if anyone was to blame, it should be Judah. Theresa's choice to reinforce the seal and then come find him was not wrong. Who told Judah to be so obsessed with playing Three Kingdoms Kill?
Sigh! Card addict; sigh! Three Kingdoms Kill. So everything is Three Kingdoms Kill's fault. If the world is destroyed, gacha should bear half the responsibility.
After a long while, Yae Sakura walked out from the side and said to the two: "You two, the rooms for resting have been prepared. Please follow me."
The two followed Yae Sakura into the area where the shrine's clergy resided. Yae Sakura slid open the paper door of one room along the corridor and introduced it to them.
"You two will rest here for the next few days. I will bring the bedding over shortly."
"Then thank you very much, Miss Yae. I will have someone deliver the thank-you gift after we return." Shun said politely. There might be a thank-you gift, but what was delivered might not be a thank-you gift.
"It's no trouble at all, just a small favor. There's no need for a thank-you gift." Yae Sakura refused while continuing to walk outward.
"This… this means we're going to… cohabitate?" Only when they entered this not-very-large room did Theresa realize what was about to happen.
She and Shun were going to stay in the same room… This, this was simply… Ana, I'm sorry.
After silently apologizing to Ana in her heart, Theresa tossed her concerns aside.
Shun glanced at Theresa. He had been close enough to naturally hear Theresa's mutterings earlier, but there was nothing he could do about it. This place was very dangerous, and he couldn't feel at ease letting Theresa stay in a different room. He also couldn't suggest separating the bedding far apart and sleeping in different corners.
The quality of houses in the Far East was too poor, and there were paper doors that could be slid open everywhere. He didn't dare sleep in a corner. Only sleeping in the center of the room gave him room to maneuver. Otherwise, if someone attacked through the walls in the middle of the night, it would be impossible to guard against.
While Shun was still standing in the room thinking, Theresa had already curiously examined the room's layout. After casually sliding open a wooden door, she saw cherry blossom petals scattering in the wind.
Inadvertently looking up, in an instant, an extremely gorgeous cherry blossom tree crashed into her view. The tree was full of blooming flowers, like a dreamlike brocade meticulously carved by the spring breeze. Every cherry blossom was like finely carved jade, pure and delicate. Layers upon layers of petals clustered together, lingering like light clouds on the branches. As the breeze blew, petals drifted down like a pink flower rain, dreamlike and illusory.
"So beautiful!" She couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. "Is this cherry blossom tree the sacred tree enshrined at Yae Shrine?"
Theresa's movements attracted Shun's attention. However, unlike Theresa who looked at the cherry blossom tree, he directed his gaze toward the tombstone beneath it.
"Yae Rin."