Kanbe Hikaru sat on the rock.
The shrine maiden's figure was long gone, leaving only the vermilion Torii standing quietly on the hillside.
He suddenly had a strange feeling.
What was it like?
The scene in "Journey to the West" where Tang Monk is left behind to wait?
Although he wasn't Tang Monk, nor was he "Tang Monk meat," and the Shikon Jewel on Kikyo was the real "Tang Monk meat."
Eating a bite of Tang Monk meat grants immortality.
Obtaining the Shikon Jewel, however, causes a yokai's power to skyrocket.
"So what does that make me?"
Kanbe Hikaru muttered to himself.
"Sun Wukong?"
[ Hiraikotsu: You disturbed it. ]
"Sorry, sorry."
Kanbe Hikaru patted the Hiraikotsu on his knees.
This thing was still sleeping, and it had a huge temper.
He took a water skin from his bosom, poured some water into his palm, and began to wipe the yellow bony surface.
His movements were very light.
Very meticulous.
Like he was serving a master.
[ Hiraikotsu: Affection +1 ]
[ Current Affection: 1 (Budding) ]
[ It thinks your technique is okay, barely passing. ]
Finally, there was a reaction.
Kanbe Hikaru's lips curled up.
He continued wiping, his palm sliding along the curved bone blade, feeling that heavy weight.
"Your name is Hiraikotsu, right?"
He said while wiping.
"I heard you were forged from the bones of many yokai, so does that make you... a dormitory?"
[ Hiraikotsu: It thinks you are very boring. ]
"Alright, enough joking around."
Kanbe Hikaru put away his smile, his tone turning somewhat serious.
"Your master, that old gentleman, asked me on his deathbed to deliver the Shikon Jewel to Kikyo."
"He was very worried about you, you know?"
[Hiraikotsu:...]
[It showed no reaction, but seemed to be listening.]
"I will return you to the Demon Slayer village."
Kanbe Hikaru said.
"Deliver you into the hands of his family."
"Until then, I'll keep you safe for him."
He poured a little more water from his waterskin, this time directly onto the bone blade of Hiraikotsu, then carefully wiped it with his sleeve.
Not missing a single groove.
[Hiraikotsu: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 2 (Budding)]
[It acknowledges that your words are somewhat acceptable. But it still doesn't trust you much.]
Two points.
Although the increase is slow, at least it's increasing.
Kanbe Hikaru nodded with satisfaction, continuing to serve this 'lord'.
Just then.
Footsteps came from down the mountain path.
Very light.
Yet deliberately making a sound.
Kanbe Hikaru didn't look up, continuing to wipe Hiraikotsu.
The newcomer stopped five paces in front of him.
"Um... excuse me."
It was a woman's voice.
Very young, carrying a hint of a charming tone.
Only then did Kanbe Hikaru look up.
And then he froze.
A young girl stood before him.
She looked about sixteen or seventeen, with an excellent figure.
Not just ordinarily good.
The kind that makes it hard to look away.
She wore a dark red, form-fitting outfit. The fabric was excessively thin, clinging tightly to her body like a second skin.
The neckline was cut very low, so low that two mounds of snowy white curvature could be seen, squeezed together to form a deep cleavage that trembled slightly with her breathing.
Her waist was so slender it seemed one could grasp it with one hand, yet it somehow supported the exaggerated, almost scientifically impossible curves above and below.
Below was a narrow waistline; the fabric tightened there, outlining her flat stomach and the faintly visible navel.
Further down—
Her hip line was excessively round and full, the thin layer of fabric clinging tightly to every inch of its rise and fall, as if painted on.
Her thighs were long and fair-skinned, gleaming with a porcelain-like sheen in the sunlight, with fine texture and deep shadows in the crevice between them.
Bare feet on the ground, ankles slender.
Features delicate.
An oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and peach-blossom cheeks; she looked charming and cute, somewhat like the girl-next-door style.
Most striking was her hair.
Jet-black short hair only reached her shoulders, yet it was exceptionally thick.
Each strand seemed alive, gently drifting in the breeze.
But—
In this desolate wilderness, how could a real 'girl-next-door' possibly appear?
Kanbe Hikaru was very clear-headed.
"I got lost in the mountains. Is there a village nearby?"
The girl tilted her head slightly, revealing her fair neckline; the movement carried a waft of fragrant breeze.
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