Chapter 34: The Great Donkey Demon

The woman unwrapped the white cloth covering her child's arm, revealing... nothing but a stump where his entire forearm should have been. The wound looked fresh, hastily treated yet still bleeding profusely.

Such a young child...

"Granny, put him down first..."

Seeing the injury, Kikyō's expression shifted slightly as she immediately set aside the luggage she was carrying on her back.

She took out some white medicinal powder and sprinkled it over the boy's severed arm before beginning further treatment.

As a shrine maiden, not only did she need skills to ward off monsters, but also knowledge of blessings, divination, rituals for the dead—and medicine.

In this era, every shrine maiden knew at least basic medical care.

They were essentially the doctors for their villages or towns.

-

After some quick treatment, Kikyō was sure the bleeding had stopped.

By then, the little boy on the ground had also stopped crying. Clearly, whatever medicine Kikyō used had numbed his pain. He now stared fixedly at her with wide eyes.

"Can you tell us what happened?" she asked. "How did his arm get cut off like that... Who could be so cruel?"

While treating the wound, Kikyō realized the boy's arm had been chopped clean through.

As a kind-hearted miko, there were certain things Kikyō couldn't accept.

"A passing samurai," said the woman holding her child. Tears streamed down her face. "He just looked at him for a bit too long."

Even though the boy's wound was no longer bleeding, he'd probably never use his arm again. In this era, it was hard enough to survive without an arm, let alone do anything else.

"Samurai..."

In feudal Japan, samurais held power equal to nobles, and at times they were even more influential than anyone else.

It was said... that warriors ruled this land.

These warriors had the right to kill without punishment... This led to many bad-tempered ones who would test their swords on people at the slightest provocation.

Of course, this "right to kill" only applied to commoners.

"Do you want to go check it out?"

Yae Sakura saw Kikyō's silence and guessed what she was thinking.

As a shrine maiden, her job was to get rid of monsters and protect humans.

If they were human, especially a high-ranking warrior, she had no right to interfere.

In this world where spirits walked at night, shrine maidens held a fairly high status. However, while some warriors might not be as strong as a shrine maiden, their social standing was always equal or higher. Kikyō simply didn't have the authority to intervene in such matters.

Especially during this time period, allowing warriors to test their swords was seen as an honor for citizens.

It was perfectly legal...

"But..."

"Let's go! I'm not just a shrine maiden; I'm also a warrior," Yae Sakura said, pulling Kikyō along. "We should talk to that warrior!"

"Great Miko-sama, and this... rabbit—no, I mean, this Large Donkey Monster—are you facing the samurai?"

Hearing this, the little boy looked at Yae Sakura and Higokumaru standing beside Kikyō without fear.

Though they clearly weren't human, since they were companions of such a pure miko, they probably weren't bad guys.

In those days, it wasn't unusual for onmyouji, mikos, and wizards to have non-human spirit familiars or demons around them.

"Donkey... donkey monster..."

Donkey? More like bullshit!

When he heard that kid's remark, all sympathy Yae Sakura had for him vanished in an instant.

"I'm sorry, Lady Rabbit Monster!" The woman immediately knelt before Yae Sakura. "Please don't blame the child—he speaks his mind. If you want to punish someone, punish me instead."

Wait, thought Yae Sakura, she thinks I'm a rabbit?

Though she was with the miko, she was still a monster.

"It's a fox, not a rabbit—and definitely not a donkey!"

"Yes, yes, Lady Fox Monster!"

"..."

-

"Great one, here's our village up ahead!" The woman held her child tightly, her voice filled with respect. Though the boy would only have one arm from now on, at least he had survived. And these three lords were ready to seek justice for him—how could she not be grateful?

This village didn't have a doctor or a shrine maiden. If someone needed medical help, they had to go to the neighboring village.

That's why the woman left her village with her injured child—to find the old shrine maiden next door who might be able to heal him.

Not every village had a shrine maiden or a doctor, after all.

If they hadn't met Kikyō in time, it was hard to say what would've happened when they reached the neighboring village. The little boy could've lost too much blood and died before they made it there.

In those days, if an ordinary person got hurt...or fell sick...

Unless it was minor, they just had to wait for their body to heal itself. For serious injuries, there was nothing but waiting to die.

Such a strong smell of blood...

Yae Sakura felt a heavy scent of blood even before reaching the village, along with a hint of...something eerie.

"Oh no! Something's happened!"

The three of them rushed back to the village with the woman and her young son.

As they approached, they saw countless houses burning in the fields beyond.

Screams and sounds of slaughter echoed without pause...

"It's bandits..."

"Great Miko, Great Fox Spirit, please save our village," the woman pleaded, looking at Kikyō and Yae Sakura as she watched the raiders wreak havoc from a distance.

Quest Triggered: Drive Off the Robbers

Reward: 5 Crystals

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

"Kikyo, stay here with them. I'll stop those bandits." Yae treated monsters and humans completely differently.

Even evil bandits were hard for Kikyo to fight against, so they decided she shouldn't get involved at all.

"This... if we don't have to kill anyone, let's not. Just drive them off."

After a moment of hesitation, Kikyo agreed.

"How kind you are... Kikyo," thought Higokumaru. But in this chaotic era, such kindness won't lead to anything good.

"Yes, I understand!" Smiling warmly at her, Yae nodded and quickly headed towards the village up ahead.

"Big Sis, wait for me!" Higokumaru glanced at Kikyo, secretly sticking out his tongue before rushing after Yae.

"Let's wait here for a moment," Kikyo said to the mother and child beside her. "They'll chase off those monsters soon enough."

The green plum can't stand up to the sky's wrath.

They're just losers, nothing more...

"Yes, Miko-sama."

(TL Note: green plums (a symbol of something lesser or weaker) are no match for a powerful, inevitable force (the sky's wrath), and emphasizes the idea of them being "defeated" or "losers.")