Chapter 15: Seeking Refuge with Kikyo

"Only 280 crystals? That's it?"

Yae Sakura was taken aback, feeling a hint of disappointment.

This is a great demon, one of the most powerful beings in the Inuyasha world. Shouldn't it be worth at least several thousand crystals?

Yet it amounted to... 280?

That's just like winning a single prize from a game gacha!

And this reward was for killing it for the first time; normally, wouldn't you need to slay a dozen or more great demons before unlocking a new world?

However... it seemed there was more than just crystal rewards...

Killed Great Demon: Earth Spider

Achievement: First Kill of a Great Demon

Reward: Randomly selected talent from the opponent

Congratulations! You have obtained the Resurrection Talent.

"Res... resurrection?"

Yae Sakura was stunned!

Upon closer inspection...

Resurrection: Each world allows three resurrections in total. After resurrection, you will return to perfect health.

First resurrection requires 280 crystals.

Second resurrection requires 2,800 crystals.

Third resurrection requires 28,000 crystals.

"28,000 crystals? Are they crazy...?"

Still, the first resurrection seemed reasonable.

In games, resurrection usually cost around 30 crystals, so demanding 280 here felt quite steep—almost exploitative!

But then again, recalling that animated short "Final Lesson," where Himeko battled against Rupanah, if she could bring back Himeko with resurrection, even paying 28,000 crystals would be worth it, right?

"What kind of system is this anyway?" Yae Sakura hesitated before asking, "...Can I pay for extra features?"

Clearly, the aloof System wasn't interested in her question.

Oh well...

After defeating the earth spider, Yae turned her attention to the other large monster—Princess Seiki.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Seiki looked at Yae with an expression that showed neither joy nor worry, as if nothing Yae did would matter much to her.

"..."

Yae fell silent, lost in thought. Logically speaking, she was also a powerful monster, so killing her should yield crystals too. But...this monster seemed just like any ordinary human woman...

And Yae couldn't find it in herself to harm someone who hadn't done anything wrong...

So even if she ever had to kill someone someday, surely the first person on her list would be someone she truly despised...

"You can go now..." Yae put away her spiritual blade, deciding to let Princess Seiki free.

"..."

Seiki gave Yae one last serious look, bowed deeply, then turned and left without another word.

With the earth spider dead, Seiki planned to return to the ruins of Dōjō-ji Temple to wait—to see if perhaps one day she might reunite with him again.

After watching Princess Seiki leave, Yae Sakura finally returned to Natsuki's side.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. How about you, Lady Yae? You weren't hurt, were you?" Natsuki looked at her with concern written all over her face.

"I'm good too! Alright, that was taken care of. Let's get you home!"

"That earth spider..."

"It's gone now!"

"Oh."

After an hour...

At last... I'd returned Natsuki home, completing the commission. Five crystals in total.

It wasn't a bad haul, considering it was from such a big monster.

As for Natsuki mentioning her father might pay me extra, Yae Sakura turned it down flat. With over a hundred million gold coins already, she didn't care about some noble's measly reward.

Still, Yae had Natsuki help spread word about her. To become a famous shrine maiden, you need others to talk you up and get your name out there.

In the end, Yae rummaged through her inventory and pulled out a one-star USP45 pistol, handing it to Natsuki.

"I'll come visit you again. Take this for protection!"

With this, you should be able to handle ordinary humans and weak monsters, Yae thought. When you're alone, practice aiming as much as you can.

As for Natsuki, although she was beautiful, Yae knew she would leave soon. She didn't want anything serious with her.

Still, they had become friends during their short time together!

Yae realized that all the guns and cannons in her inventory came with unlimited ammunition...

There was no need to worry about running out of bullets.

With the USP45 on hand, Natsuki should be able to handle most robbers or similar threats.

For everything else, it'd be up to her own skills.

"Lady Yae, are you leaving?" Natsuki asked, reluctant to part ways. Though they'd known each other only a day or two... Yae's care for Natsuki throughout their journey left an indelible mark on her heart.

"Yeah! Take care of yourself. We'll meet again someday."

Waving goodbye, Yae put on her cloak and departed from Yuhara Castle without looking back.

After leaving Yuhara City, Yae Sakura felt a sudden sense of freedom. With Natsuki by her side before, she had been forced to travel slowly.

Now... Yae could move as fast as she wanted. In an instant, she leaped from one treetop to another, faster than ever.

"Where should I go now?"

Yae Sakura stood at the treetop, lost in thought. The story hadn't even begun yet; Kikyō hadn't taken control of the Jewel of Four Souls.

Maybe she should find Kikyō. It wasn't just about stopping the monsters coming for the jewel. If possible, Yae Sakura didn't want Kikyō to die either.

She knew that if Kikyō lived, Gohaku wouldn't appear later.

But... compared to Gohaku, Kikyō really had it worse off!

That's what I'll do! She'd go find Kikyō—first, to fight monsters, and second, to prevent her death.

However... how was she supposed to get to Maple Village?

(TL Note-I looked around trying to find the name of the actual village, but could only find references of it being Kaede's village. So I used the name Kaede and converted it into its direct translation so it can be distinguished from the character who shares the name.)

Looking at all these forests around her, Yae Sakura felt... like she might be getting lost again.

Night fell as Yae Sakura caught a pheasant and found a spot to sit down. She started a fire.

Now she regretted leaving so soon. I should've stayed at Yuhara Castle for a few days! This outdoor life was really too much trouble!

She also missed taking baths.

"Huh? I have a friend now? What's going on?"

Yae Sakura was eating grilled meat when she noticed something new in her system interface: a friend.

The friend was none other than Natsuki herself!

But what good was this friend?

There were even... private messages?

She could send private messages... Yae was completely amazed by this feature.

After a moment's thought, Yae tried sending a message to Natsuki:

"Are you there? It's me, Yae."

"Eh?! Who's talking?" Natsuki's voice suddenly echoed in Yae's ears, surprising both of them.

"It's me, Yae Sakura. Can you hear me?"

"Lady Yae? Where are you? Why can't I see you?"

"I'm not at Yuhara Castle..."

After chatting with Natsuki for a bit, Yae Sakura was truly amazed!

It felt like talking over a long-distance call—almost as if they were on the phone.

That's incredible.

I wonder if we'll be able to have private chats after going to other worlds. If so, that would be even more powerful.

The next afternoon...

Yae Sakura emerged from the woods and, after asking for directions several times, finally arrived at Kikyō's hometown, Maple Village.

Maybe it was because Yae Sakura was wearing a miko's outfit? Plus, her ears were covered by her cloak. The villagers of Maple Village treated her with great respect.

Or perhaps they were just respecting her as a shrine maiden.

After explaining why she had come and saying she wanted to see Miko Kikyō, the villagers sent a young boy to lead Yae Sakura to where Kikyō lived.

Yae Sakura immediately spotted Kikyō teaching archery to a little girl up ahead.

"Kikyō!" Yae Sakura called out upon seeing her.

Kikyō, who was teaching the girl, turned around along with the child at the sound of Yae Sakura's voice.

"You're... Yae Sakura?"

"Yes!"

Yae Sakura took off her cloak, revealing her fox ears, then walked over.

"Furry long ears!" The little girl beside Kikyō saw Yae Sakura's ears and gasped in surprise.

"They're fox ears," Yae Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"Why have you come?" Kikyō looked at Yae Sakura, puzzled.

"I have nowhere to go, so I decided to stick with you! You won't mind me tagging along, will you, Kikyō?"

"Don't call me 'Kikyō' like we're close friends. Weren't you supposed to be escorting Princess Natsuki?"

"I already brought her back!"

"Then why didn't you stay..." Kikyō was about to ask why Yae hadn't stayed with Natsuki, but then she remembered... Yae was a half-demon, and humans would surely reject her. It made sense that she wouldn't stay.

"Do you have anywhere else to go?"

Kikyō thought for a moment... then looked calmly at Yae.

"No," Yae shook her head honestly.

"Then you can stay here for now, but... you mustn't harm those villagers, and you have to listen to my instructions. Can you do that?" Kikyō recalled Yae's own experiences; as a half-demon now, it seemed neither humans nor monsters wanted her around.

In Maple Village, with Kikyō there, the villagers probably wouldn't say anything.

Let's take her in for now!

Considering... we're both shrine maidens.

"Thank you so much, Kikyō-chan! You're truly amazing!" Yae Sakura rushed over and hugged her.

"Let go of me first! And listen up: if I find out you've done anything harmful to humans, I won't let you off the hook," Kikyō quickly pushed away from Yae Sakura.

"How could I? I'm a shrine maiden too. Why would I harm humans?! My duty is to slay monsters and fight for humanity's bright future!"

"Is that so...? Remember what you just said."

And with that, Yae Sakura was allowed to stay temporarily in Maple Village.

Time slipped away like water through cupped hands, and before anyone knew it, a year had passed...

"Sakura-sis, Kikyo-sis took a job from another village and is about to leave. Are you still in bed?"

Yae Sakura was sound asleep when a young girl in traditional miko attire suddenly appeared beside her bed. The girl looked at the fox ears on Yae Sakura's head, fighting the urge to stroke them as she called out.

The little girl still remembered how badly she'd been beaten last time she tried to sneakily grab Yae Sakura's fox ears while she was sleeping.

"A job? So early... I'm up!"

Yae Sakura immediately climbed out of bed. After moving to Maple Village, she discovered that taking jobs with Kikyo could earn her crystals.

Usually, there was only one crystal per job, or none if it was too easy.

Even the job where they escorted Natsuki—a relatively high-payout—only yielded five crystals.

But every little bit counts! Over a year, by frequently doing jobs with Kikyo, not only did Yae Sakura become fully accepted as a half-demon in Maple Village, but she also earned nearly three hundred crystals.

Add to that the crystals from killing monsters, and now Yae Sakura had amassed almost 1000.

Wow... Only a thousand crystals in a whole year. I'm really failing at this!

The main issue was that she hadn't encountered any big monsters since then. In this world, such creatures were rare anyway.

The main task was a commission, the first bounty mission she'd started but hadn't finished yet.

She had killed the big monster, but still needed to kill 900 more regular monsters.

It was getting hard because Yae Sakura had cleared out all the nearby monsters.