Chapter 28: The Wandering Shrine Maiden

"Furthermore, even if the woodcutter chooses the silver axe, the goddess will give a light scoff, saying, 'That is not what you said in your previous life,' before using the silver axe to sever the woodcutter's hands and feet, leaving him to let out a wail of agony."

What kind of ghost story is this? It sounds like a textbook case of entrapment.

Hyakusuke looked up at the sky, speechless... yet the old man continued to ramble on: "Then she wraps water weeds around his neck and drags him into the lake to drown..."

"Wait a moment, can't he just tell the truth and say he dropped an ordinary axe?" He had to interrupt the old man to ask.

"That doesn't work either." Matsudaira Inomaro shook his head.

"Even if he chooses that, the goddess will still say with disdain, 'How stingy,' and then take out the ordinary axe, split the woodcutter in two, and burn him as firewood?"

"Fine." Hyakusuke let out a very long, long sigh. "But what is the point of this story?"

"How would I know... It's just a story passed down by the locals." Matsudaira gave a wry smile. "Though, the scenery there is quite nice, even if it isn't very famous."

"Is that so?"

Hyakusuke was basically certain that whoever came up with this twisted version of "The Golden and Silver Axe" must be a game designer—the handiwork of those sadistic developers behind *Oborozuki no Mei*. It might even be a "hidden setting" that hasn't been revealed yet.

"Also, only the locals call it Snow Yaksha Lake; to outsiders, it seems to be known as Waterbird Lake," the old man added.

No wonder. Hyakusuke sighed inwardly.

Of course, in the game's plot, there was no name like Snow Yaksha Lake or Waterbird Lake; it was just referred to vaguely as "a certain large lake."

'If not for the mention of the name "Snow Yaksha," I would never have remembered it,' Hyakusuke thought. This was likely a side quest that could only be triggered by the protagonist, Tsukigara Yomei. Unlike side quests that simply resolve an "incident," this one lacked special rewards.

Once the Snow Yaksha side quest is completed, one receives very generous rewards.

"And they are selectable rewards, including the 'Fruit of Non-time,' 'Armor of No-Shield,' 'Dragon-Headed Jewel,' 'Celestial Maru,' and 'Kamutsumi Peach'... all of which can provide initial enhancements to the protagonist."

Originally, if the game proceeded normally, these selectable rewards were best obtained by the protagonist, Tsukigara Yomei. As long as her strength and that of her powerful teammates were boosted, the difficulty of the early game would be significantly reduced.

"However, now that I am the one solving this mission, it would be better if I took the rewards for myself." Hyakusuke thought. Compared to the protagonist, his own strength was still too frail. If he could keep these rewards for himself and increase his power, he wouldn't have to risk his life in every battle.

"Lord Hyakusuke, you are distracted. Could it be that you have something on your mind?" The old man noticed his wandering thoughts and quickly prompted him.

"No, it's nothing." Hyakusuke picked up the map and replied, "I just think this map is too old; many routes are hard to distinguish. It seems the Kurohime Mountain family hasn't sent anyone to update the maps in a long time."

He began to calculate the conditions for completing this side quest in his mind.

...

"Listen closely, Brother." Younger sister Ayaka coughed lightly. "No, I should call you Sister now. Let me clarify: your current identity is Miss Mei of the Nakuya branch of the Tsukigara family. Please, never forget who you are."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Tsukigara Yomei, now in the ox cart, was holding a kashiwa-mochi dessert, stuffing her mouth full. She mumbled like a squirrel with bulging cheeks: "I'll be fine..."

"Oh, Brother~~" Ayaka picked up a handkerchief to wipe her face. "Please have some manners when you eat. It's one thing at home, but I can't look after you all the time when we're out... Also, have you noticed that your appetite is even more astonishing than before?"

Although she used to eat three bowls of rice per meal, she was now also extremely fond of sweets, consuming desserts and various snacks day after day. It was unclear what was wrong with her body.

"It's fine." Yomei patted her chest. "It's just health."

However, she seemed to have choked, and she curled up, coughing violently.

"Here, drink some water." Ayaka sighed and handed over a bamboo tube filled with water. Yomei gulped it down, narrowly avoiding choking to death on the spot.

"Whew! I'm alive again!" She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Granny Shukuka also said my body is very healthy. Since spirit users consume more than ordinary people, their appetites are usually quite large. My situation is likely just a side effect of my body changing; it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"That's good, then." Ayaka was just an ordinary person and didn't understand these matters, so she could only nod.

"Speaking of which..." Yomei muttered to herself, "That person from earlier must be the Chunin Hyakusuke who saved me in the spider's lair, right? I must find an opportunity to thank him properly."

"Brother, don't forget, you are Miss Mei now," Ayaka quickly reminded her.

"Eh~ right, I almost forgot." She finally remembered.

Ayaka looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh of speechlessness.

...

"Damn it." The journey did not go smoothly.

On the first day, halfway through the journey, a strong wind blew and a torrential rain began. After delaying for most of the day to avoid the storm, everyone had to hit the road again. However, the heavy rain caused a bridge ahead to collapse, forcing them to take a detour.

By the third day, the ox cart caravan had been on the road all day when they encountered an attack.

There were no bandits or mountain brigands on this mountain road, but there were monsters that preyed on travelers.

There were about thirty monsters, a type of lesser demon called "Lizard-maru." They resembled humanoid lizards and suddenly sprang out from the mountains, attacking Matsudaira Inomaro, who was on horseback, and attempting to charge at the ox cart.

Hyakusuke had been leading the horse for the old man. The moment black shadows darted out from the mist on the mountain path, he reacted quickly. He pulled his Seven-Section Spear from his waist, whipped it into a long lance, and lightning-fast, pierced the throat of an attacking lizard demon.

'Those itinerant merchants were right; there really are lesser demons like Lizard-maru on this road...' Hyakusuke muttered to himself.

This mountain path was outside the jurisdiction of the Kurohime Mountain family. The exorcists of the main family would periodically "cleanse" their territory and surrounding areas to ensure no monsters gathered in large numbers. In truth, in this era, monsters lurked in the wilderness and mountains, ready to attack passersby at any moment.

Moreover, people with spiritual power, including exorcists, were seen by monsters as the ultimate "delicacy." By eating an exorcist with powerful spiritual energy, even weak monsters could become stronger.

In other words, the low-ranking ninjas and the Tsukigara clan were easily targeted by monsters when traveling through areas outside the jurisdiction of the Kurohime Mountain exorcists.

"Hah!" Matsudaira Inomaro let out a low shout and swung the long naginata he carried. A silver blade of light flashed, and with a single stroke, he severed another lizard monster from its left shoulder to its right flank, cutting it in two.

Blood and viscera splattered on the ground. The scent of blood did not deter the lesser demons; instead, it stirred their ferocity.

"Protect the ox cart! Tighten the formation!" Hyakusuke, acting as the Chunin, shouted. "Defend in the Mountain-Blowing formation!"

The low-ranking ninjas heard the order and quickly tightened their formation, using ten-character spears and naginatas to meet the enemy.

The lizard demons roared as they attacked. They had no weapons, relying entirely on their sharp claws and teeth to close the distance.

The old man, Matsudaira, pulled the reins and drove his horse forward, charging directly into the enemy ranks. He skillfully brandished his blade, and in an instant, a mist of blood filled the air.

"He really is impressive." Hyakusuke knew he didn't have that kind of strength. He took a step back, closed in with the surrounding low-ranking ninjas, and used his Seven-Section Spear to stab the encroaching monsters.

'Truly beasts... These lesser demons have no special abilities. Rather than fighting them in close quarters with spears and naginatas, it would be better to have a musketeer unit—a single volley would easily wipe them out.'

Alas, that was just a fantasy.

The Imperial Court did not allow exorcist families to possess high-powered firearms, including cannons and new-age flintlock rifles. This technology, introduced to the island nation by the "Southern Barbarians," was currently restricted to the Imperial Army.

"It's just like some dynasties in China that banned the private possession of armor and crossbows... It's fundamentally about curbing the expansion of powerful exorcist clans."

Hyakusuke shook his head and focused on the enemies. The Lizard-maru were not strong. After their failed ambush from the mountain mist, they couldn't break through the ox cart's defense line and ended up running into a formidable opponent like old man Matsudaira. The outcome was predictable.

The old man rode his horse like a fierce warrior from the Warring States period, unstoppable wherever he went. When the Lizard-maru realized the ambush had failed and tried to flee, they were met with the pursuit of the naginata.

*Whoosh!*

A flash of the blade horizontally severed the head of the fleeing Lizard-maru leader, and it fell to the ground. Another lizard monster tried desperately to run in the other direction, but was pierced from above by the blade, which cut through its tail and split it in two.

"A beast relying only on sharp teeth and claws—how could it possibly block my blade?" Matsudaira Inomaro shook his head with a sigh. "May the Buddha have mercy and spare you from being reborn into the three evil paths in your next life."

"Lord Matsudaira, the other lesser demons have been put to death." Hyakusuke hurried over. "The ox cart is also perfectly fine."

"That's good. By the way, notify the travelers and merchants behind us. Since this pack of monsters has been slain, this mountain path should be safe for the time being." The old man ordered with a smile.

"Understood." Hyakusuke nodded.

Before long, a group of travelers who had been following not far behind the caravan hurried over to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, kind sirs, for driving away those monsters."

"Those Lizard-maru have caused us such misery; we truly thank you, my lords."

"Several people died in the past few days; it was a sin..."

The travelers included small-time peddlers, hawkers, pilgrims, chanting monks, wandering performers, and wandering ascetics carrying Buddha statues—the lowest of the low, even worse off than common townspeople or peasants.

They pressed their palms together and thanked them in unison.

Indeed, a "thank you" is not worth much. The low-ranking ninjas couldn't possibly collect money for such things, but for the exhausted group, these were words that could at least soothe the soul.

'At least, my risking my life like this is not entirely meaningless to others.'

Hyakusuke also muttered to himself in his heart.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to one of the travelers.

"This woman... she must be the wandering shrine maiden called 'Winter Firefly,' right?"

He noticed one of the priestesses among them.

A wandering shrine maiden, also known as a walking priestess. They had no fixed shrine and traveled between villages, performing divination, prayers, and exorcisms as requested by the people. It is rumored that Minamoto no Yoshitsune's lover, Shizuka Gozen, was a type of wandering shrine maiden known as a Shirabyoshi.

"She is also a character involved in this side quest, and her identity is tied to the subsequent plot."

Hyakusuke's heart stirred, and he was certain he could grasp the thread of this side quest.