The long-winded words drifted on the wind as Nurarihyon exhaled a puff of smoke.
The smoke dissipated in the night breeze, seemingly drifting with his words toward the still-burning shrine.
"Look at that old man." He pointed his pipe at the hunchbacked village elder in the corner of the yard.
The old man was crouched by the wall, his stooped back even more hunched than before, as if weighed down by something he couldn't shake off.
"What's he afraid of?" Nurarihyon asked.
"Afraid of demons? No, that toad is dead."
"Afraid of you? Impossible. You're his saviors."
"What he's afraid of—" The golden-haired yukai paused, his vertical pupils reflecting the firelight. "...is tomorrow."
Shinji said nothing.
He knew what was coming.
"The local lord around here, what's his name…" Nurarihyon scratched his head, pretending to struggle to remember. "Anyway, he's a samurai with a family name, a retainer of the 'Hōjō clan' in the area. Apparently he's come into some wealth these past two years, and his greed is ugly to watch."
"Ugly?" Kikyō's voice was calm.
"Seventy percent tribute." Nurarihyon held up a hand, fingers spread.
"Seventy percent?" Shinji frowned.
Tribute was the tax peasants paid their lords.
Under normal circumstances, forty percent was already oppressive.
Seventy percent... that was practically a death sentence.
And that was just the start. Tribute was only one of many taxes.
Nurarihyon continued: "Plus corvée labor, military service, road tolls, head taxes… any name you can think of, he collects it. If you can't pay, he takes you. If he can't take you, he burns your house."
"This village is actually lucky. At least they still have some shelters."
"The village over? Burned to the ground three months ago. Men dragged off to build walls. The women…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to. Everyone understood.
"So now you get why that toad could play 'god' here, right?" Nurarihyon looked at Shinji.
"It's not that it was so strong. It's that these people needed a 'god.' Something to protect them."
"Even if it ate one person a month, that was better than being dragged off by the lord's soldiers."
"At least being eaten was one person's problem. Getting noticed by the lord was the whole village's problem."
Shinji fell silent.
Kikyō fell silent too.
They already knew this.
"When that toad was alive, the lord's men didn't dare come. Oh, he tried, hired plenty of exorcists. But against a toad backed by 'Fear,' none of them stood a chance." Nurarihyon shrugged.
"But now…" He glanced at the smoldering ruins. "That toad is dead. The 'god' is gone."
"What do you think will happen when the lord finds out?"
Shinji knew exactly what would happen.
Tax collectors. Press gangs.
They'd squeeze every last drop from this already suffering village.
That was the price of killing the demon.
"So I said what you did was pointless." Nurarihyon tucked his pipe back into his obi. "Killing demons feels good. But the rot in this world isn't rooted in demons."
"It's rooted in humans."
"'Human hearts are more wicked than demons.' That saying exists for a reason."
"When this is all over, the best-case scenario? Another demon shows up, and the cycle repeats."
"Nothing really changes."
In the corner of the yard, the village elder finally stood up.
The old man approached, his cloudy eyes filled with a complex expression.
"Benefactors…" His voice was hoarse. "This old man has something to say. I'm not sure if I should speak."
"Go ahead," Shinji said.
"Tonight's great kindness, this old man will never forget." The village elder bowed deeply, bending at the waist.
"But… but I dare to ask…"
"After you two leave, what will become of this village?"
His voice trembled.
"That toad was a demon, yes. But while it was here, the lord's men didn't dare come."
"Now that it's dead…"
"When the lords in the castle town hear the news, they will come…"
"They'll say we hid things meant for the god. They'll say we owe three months' back taxes…"
The old man's eyes reddened.
"This old man is already old. Dying is nothing."
"But the village still has children, young people…"
He knelt.
"I am grateful you two slew the demon. I don't blame you at all. We know a demon is a demon. What I did was evil, drinking poison to quench thirst. But I had no other choice. Now, I only beg you two benefactors… beg you to save the others in the village. For that, we will do anything. Even give our lives willingly!"
Shinji looked down at the kneeling old man.
The firelight etched every crevice of his weathered face, making him look especially aged.
Beside them, Nurarihyon lounged with his pipe, wearing an expression of amused observation.
"See? Told you," he said. "Killing demons is easy. Cleaning up the mess is hard. This whole 'chivalrous hero' routine, in this chaotic age…"
"I have a plan."
Shinji cut him off.
Nurarihyon blinked.
"You have a plan?"
"From the moment I decided to act, I thought about what to do next."
Shinji looked down at the elder, then raised his gaze to the still-burning shrine.
"You think I didn't know what would happen after killing that toad?" he said.
"The lord will come. The officials will come. This village will suffer worse."
"I know all that."
"So does she."
He glanced sideways at Kikyō.
The shrine maiden said nothing, only gave a slight nod.
Nurarihyon's expression shifted.
The playful, watching-from-the-sidelines attitude vanished. In its place was genuine, curious surprise.
"If you knew, why did you act anyway?"
"Because..."
Shinji helped the kneeling elder to his feet. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
"From the start, I never planned to just kill the toad and walk away."
He'd said those words about saving people regardless of what they thought. But actually finishing the job and just washing his hands of it? He couldn't do that. And there was no need.
He really did have a plan now.
Get rid of evil completely.
Either don't do it at all, or see it through to the end.
He turned to face Nurarihyon.
The flames danced behind him, casting shifting shadows across his pale face.
"This village needs a 'god,' right?" Shinji said.
"Needs something to protect them, right?"
"Simple." He grinned.
The smile was a little eerie in the darkness, yet somehow reassuring.
"Then we'll be the ones to guard this place."
"What?" The elder was stunned.
Nurarihyon's eyes narrowed, a gleam flickering in his golden vertical pupils.
"What do you mean…"
"It's simple." Shinji patted Muramasa at his waist. "This village needs a 'god' to keep the lord's men away. Needs a demon to make the officials think twice."
"Whatever that toad could do, I can do too."
"And..."
"I don't eat people."
He looked at Kikyō.
"Neither does she."
Kikyō didn't argue.
She just stood there quietly, her black hair drifting in the night breeze, her dark eyes revealing nothing.
But Shinji knew she agreed.
From the moment she'd grabbed her bow and followed him out of that rundown hut, she'd agreed.
Whatever Shinji could think of, Kikyō surely could too.
Killing the demon was just the beginning.
Cleaning up the aftermath was the real challenge.
"From now on, this village is under my name," Shinji said to the elder.
"Anyone who comes to collect taxes, anyone who comes to take people, tell them my name."
"As for whether it works… you'll find out soon enough. And so will they."
He clearly had something bigger in mind. Something that would shake things up.
The elder's mouth hung open, unable to close.
"This… this…"
Nurarihyon watched, his golden eyes blinking.
He let out a whistle.
"Interesting, demon warrior." He studied Shinji, an appraising look in his eyes. "What is this? You're making yourself a god by proxy?"
"But can you really make them back off with just a name?"
"Even if you scare off the foot soldiers, what if the lord himself comes with his men?"
"Then I'll kill him."
Shinji's tone was flat.
"Don't forget," he added. "I'm a demon, same as you."
Demons didn't just fight each other.
They could kill humans too.
That was exactly what he planned to do next.
[Shikon Jewel · Pure Spirit: Affection +2]
[Current Affection: 46 (Trust)]
[It sends you a message: 'This is the right attitude.']