The Goshinboku stood right there.
Kōbe Hikaru followed Kikyō through the village, across the ridges between the fields, and through a small grove of trees.
The further forward they went, the clearer the silhouette of that colossal tree became.
Its trunk was astonishingly thick, its surface blanketed in heavy moss, with slender vines clinging in the crevices, and the grey-brown bark riddled with furrows and grain left by the passage of years.
Its crown truly veiled the very sky and blotted out the sun; the dense foliage took on hues of varying depth in the sunlight, and now and then a few threads of golden radiance spilled down through the gaps in the leaves, gathering upon the grass into fine, scattered flecks.
And upon that trunk, something could faintly be seen flowing slowly.
That was by no means something a human hand could have carved—it was naturally formed, as though it were an extraordinary power contained within this very tree itself.
"We're here."
Kikyō halted before the tree.
Her hand still held Kōbe Hikaru's, their ten fingers laced together, with no intention of letting go.
Kōbe Hikaru lifted his head to gaze at this colossal tree, an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.
So this was the Goshinboku.
"May I approach it?"
Kōbe Hikaru asked.
"You may."
Only then did Kikyō quietly release his hand and step back half a pace. "The Goshinboku will not reject one whom it has acknowledged."
Kōbe Hikaru nodded and strode toward that great tree.
With each step closer, he could feel that vast power surging slowly.
That was not yōkai aura, nor was it spiritual power, but something older, something purer.
Like the breath of heaven and earth itself, the rhythm by which all things grow.
Kōbe Hikaru reached out, pressing his palm against the trunk.
It was warm to the touch, carrying a reassuring pulse.
And then—
[Conquerable target detected]
[Goshinboku]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Current favourability: 0 (Stranger)]
[Evaluation: A sacred tree that links past, present, and future. It has grown here for several thousand years, older even than this country, and has thus borne witness to countless partings of life and death. It bears you no hostility, but neither does it hold any fondness for you. To win its acknowledgement, you must offer sincerity enough.]
A Divine Artifact, just as expected.
This quality was the same as the Shikon Jewel's.
Higher than a yōkai weapon, which held the power of yōkai within it, and higher still than the common implements such as the Sōza Samonji, or the Muramasa in its initial state—this was, thus far, the highest-grade quality of conquerable thing that Kōbe Hikaru had ever seen.
It was an existence approaching that of a deity.
The Shikon Jewel had been formed after the strongest shrine maiden, Midoriko, perished together with several hundred—even a thousand—powerful yōkai. Within it lay the four souls, representing courage, friendship, wisdom, and love, while at the same time it sealed away the yōkai's rancour.
The Goshinboku, meanwhile, was a sacred tree nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, possessed of the power to link space and time.
The essences of the two might differ, but their quality should indeed be on the same tier.
"Interesting."
Kōbe Hikaru murmured in a low voice.
He was in no hurry to begin his conquest.
First he quietly savoured the warmth conveyed to his palm, and felt that ancient, vast power.
And then—
"How many years have you grown here?"
He spoke up.
His voice was very soft, as though he were chatting with an old friend.
"A thousand years? Two thousand? Or longer still?"
The Goshinboku gave no response.
It merely stood there in silence, its leaves and branches swaying gently in the breeze.
"It must be terribly dull."
Kōbe Hikaru went on.
"Watching people come and go, watching the cycles of life and death, while you yourself stand here forever."
"But still—"
The corners of his mouth curved up slightly.
"From today on, I'll come to see you often."
Still there was no response.
But Kōbe Hikaru could feel that the pulse beneath his palm seemed to have changed, just a little.
Only the tiniest bit, almost imperceptible.
But it was certainly there.
[Goshinboku: favourability 0. It still has no interest in you, but it has now seen you.]
Though it was still 0, it was already a beginning.
Yet it was foreseeable that the pace of progress from here on would be very slow.
Most likely even far slower than the Shikon Jewel, which had Naohi's cooperation.
"How is it?"
Kikyō's voice came from behind him.
Kōbe Hikaru withdrew his hand and turned around.
Kikyō stood just a few steps away, her white robe and red hakama starkly distinct in the sunlight, her jet-black long hair drifting lightly in the wind.
Her expression was still that cool, detached look, yet in those jet-black eyes there was, unmistakably, a trace of curiosity.
"It's an existence I can 'converse' with."
Kōbe Hikaru hid nothing.
By now, even without him saying it outright, Kikyō had surely already more or less guessed at his ability—that he could converse with all things.
Kikyō's brows arched slightly; she too was somewhat surprised.
"You can sense it?"
As the shrine maiden who guarded Kaede Village, she knew of the Goshinboku's singularity, yet even she had no way to sense anything from this divine tree.
"Mm."
Kōbe Hikaru walked to her side and once more took her hand.
This gesture had already become quite natural.
So natural that neither of them felt the slightest discord.
"I can communicate with it. But the progress is very slow."
He said, "To win its acknowledgement will likely take a very long time."
Kikyō nodded, her composure restored.
"The Goshinboku has grown here for several thousand years."
Her crimson lips parted gently as she said, "For it to acknowledge a yōkai who only arrived a few months ago—that is indeed no easy thing."
Kōbe Hikaru laughed.
"Are you trying to discourage me?"
"I'm merely speaking the truth."
The corners of Kikyō's mouth lifted slightly.
This woman—usually so cool and aloof, yet when she let slip an expression like this, it was downright unfair.
"Let's go."
Kikyō tugged his hand, turning back the way they came. "The Goshinboku won't run off. There'll be plenty of time from now on."
Kōbe Hikaru followed her back, but in his mind another matter suddenly came to him.
The Bone-Eater's Well.
According to the setting of the original work, the Bone-Eater's Well was crafted from the timber of the Goshinboku.
That well could connect to the modern Japan five hundred years later, allowing people of later ages to cross over into this era.
If he could find that well—perhaps he could try to conquer it as well.
And perhaps he might even gain some clues about crossing over.
"Kikyō."
He spoke up.
"Mm?"
"Do you know of the Bone-Eater's Well?"
Kikyō's footsteps paused for a moment.
"The Bone-Eater's Well?"
She turned her head to look at him, her brows knitting slightly. "How is it you know that name?"
Something stirred in Kōbe Hikaru's heart.
"What do you mean?"
Kikyō's expression turned somewhat strange.
"The Bone-Eater's Well is a part of the Goshinboku, a well used to dispose of yōkai corpses, but by now it has fallen into disuse."
"Fallen into disuse?"
"Yes."
Kikyō nodded. "That well lies right behind the Shrine—you can actually see it every single day."
Kōbe Hikaru fell silent.
He could indeed see it, but every time he passed by, there had been no prompt whatsoever; even when he touched it, it was the same—it didn't even compare to the other well in front of the Shrine, the one that had earlier helped him fend off the Kamaitachi a few times.
That was the Bone-Eater's Well?
No, that wasn't right.
"That well shouldn't have been activated yet."
Kōbe Hikaru thought of yet another thing.
According to the original work, the Bone-Eater's Well was a well that had existed from the start, and it was indeed used to dispose of yōkai corpses... but the issue was that, before Kikyō took charge of guarding the Shikon Jewel, she hadn't actually had all that many yōkai corpses to dispose of. Most yōkai she simply purified directly with her spiritual power.
Only when they were too numerous for her to purify in a short time would she resort to outside means.
And since it was a well for disposing of yōkai corpses—where a yōkai's body, once thrown in, would vanish without a trace—that meant it, too, might in fact require yōkai corpses for itself.
Since there had previously been no yōkai corpses needing disposal, then by theoretical reasoning, there was a strong likelihood that it had not been 'activated.'
"Activated?"
This term made Kikyō start slightly; she too seemed to have seen through his thoughts. "Perhaps that's so."
"But from now on, this disused well will indeed have to be put to use."
She did not continue.
But Kōbe Hikaru already understood.
Now that the Shikon Jewel was in hand, the yōkai and demons coming to attack grew more numerous by the day. If the corpses piled up in great enough numbers, unable to be purified quickly, and were left to disperse freely, they would indeed pollute the land.
So at a time like this, the Bone-Eater's Well would be needed.
The Bone-Eater's Well, too, would be activated.
"It seems—"
Kōbe Hikaru drew a deep breath.
"—there's now one more thing I'll have to wait for."
Kikyō looked at him, and once again a faint smile surfaced at the corners of her mouth.
"Do your best."
She said.
Her voice was very soft, yet it carried an indescribable tenderness.
[Shikon Jewel — Naohi: favourability +1]
[Current favourability: 70 (Intimate)]
[It says: "She's encouraging you."]
Kōbe Hikaru looked at this prompt and couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
Like I needed you to tell me that?
…
Back at the Shrine.
Kōbe Hikaru began to draw up a new conquest plan.
The Goshinboku was of Divine-Artifact quality, so its favourability cap should likewise be 100, but at the current pace, maxing it out would likely take several years—or even longer; decades was entirely possible.
That was far too long a time.
Still, on this score, Kōbe Hikaru was not anxious.
He knew that some things simply could not be rushed.
And he understood all the better that such effort and reward were, without a doubt, directly proportional.
Just like his feelings for Kikyō—from the initial 'using' her, to the trust that came later, to now treating her with true sincerity.
How much had they been through in between?
The Goshinboku was the same.
It needed time to come to know him, to understand him, to trust him.
Rushing for quick results would only backfire.
As for the Bone-Eater's Well, that would require even more waiting.
"These, I'll set aside for now."
Kōbe Hikaru said to himself inwardly again, "Focus on what's at hand."
The Thunder Horn, the reverse scale, the Nekomata's claw.
And the Sakagami Ketsura.
The conquest progress on all four of these was advancing.
The Thunder Horn was currently at 7 points of favourability, rising 1 to 2 points each day.
The reverse scale was currently at 4 points of favourability; though it required care and caution, it wasn't actually the slowest.
The Nekomata's claw was currently at 3 points of favourability.
The Sakagami Ketsura was currently at 6 points of favourability—from the initial negative thirty to now, she was the fastest-progressing of the lot, because he could communicate with her directly.
But because she had consciousness, it might be harder to push things along in the later stages.
A 'person' is never as easy to fool as a thing.
So then, next.
"Let's focus on the Thunder Horn first!"
Thunder—it could fight and it could flee, and it suited Kōbe Hikaru's current stage all the better.
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